Coryell County Jail Fails 9th Inspection in 6 Years

Coryell County Jail documentation was examined by inspectors with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) on October 25, 2024. The jail has subsequently been listed on the TCJS website for violating one minimum jail standard. Coryell County Jail was cited for failure to conduct weekly tests of the emergency power equipment.

This is at least the sixth time in recent years that the Coryell County jail has failed an inspection, and at least nine jail inspections uncovered violations in a several-year period.

Coryell County Jail’s address is 510 Leon Street in Gatesville, Texas 76528. The jail has an inmate capacity of 92.

The Potential Dangers of Physical Restraint are Demonstrated in Coryell County Jail

Information found in a 2020 article on 20 jail deaths linked to restraint chairs mirrors some of the disturbing details described in a custodial death report out of Coryell County Jail. Video evidence shows that a detainee who died by homicide in the Gatesville, Texas, jail in 2017 was subjected to the following as jail staff attempted to place restraints on her so that she could be placed in a restraint chair:

Sprayed with OC pepper spray
Two distraction knee strikes to her right leg and thigh
Struck in the head with a closed fist
Struck about the face
Struck again once or twice

When the inmate was then turned onto her left side, jailers noticed that she wasn’t breathing or moving. That’s when 30 minutes of lifesaving efforts commenced, to no avail. Her cause of death was shown as mechanical asphyxia in association with physical restraint.

Coryell County Jail is Cited for Violating Restraint Chair Rules

The issue of deadly physical restraint has been much in the spotlight, the tragic 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis MN included. Despite this fact and the tragic restraint-related homicide in 2017, Coryell County Jail was cited twice last year in connection with restraint chairs. The following gleaned from TCJS inspectors’ notes describes the violations:

In February 2023, restraint logs were scrutinized, and it was discovered that jail staff surpassed the 15-minute observation checks required by jail standards on multiple occasions and by 1 minute up to 6 hours. Restraint logs were determined to be deficient in the required details of the types of observation checks that were performed. Multiple occasions of the use of restraints lacked substantiation of incident reports.
Notes from inspectors in an April 2023 jail inspection report follow: During a Special Inspection on August 18, 2022, through a complaint, it was determined that the jail staff exceeded the 15-minute observation checks by 1 to 10 minutes and the log was also deficient on the required details of types of observation checks that were performed. During this reinspection, the deficiency continues as the inspection team reviewed restraint chair logs from April 2023. The observation checks exceeded the standard by 2 to 12 minutes in time on multiple occasions on the respective logs.

Need Help with Jail Neglect or Abuse?

Incarceration in a city or county jail should not mean a loss of basic rights. When inmates in Texas jails suffer from mistreatment, including the denial of necessary medical care, those responsible should be held accountable.

Have you lost a loved one in a Texas jail and believe neglect may have contributed to their passing? Or were you previously detained and endured serious injuries from jail neglect or abuse? We may be able to help. At the Law Offices of Dean Malone, we have assembled a team to work on cases involving custodial deaths. Within the correctional system, distinct challenges surround the issue of inmate welfare and the protection of inmates’ rights. We draw on extensive experience to provide committed legal support.

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