Dalanna Janette Price Dies in Tarrant County, Texas Jail

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department, in Fort Worth, Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Dalanna Janette Price. Ms. Price was only 44 years old at the time of her death. We provide information contained in that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing.

The new two-page custodial death report form for Texas deaths provides very little information. This is compounded when, like Tarrant County, the reporting agency chooses to provide very little information in the summary portion of the report.

The report indicates that Ms. Price was initially in custody at 4:26 p.m. on September 5, 2020. It also indicates that she died on September 9, 2020 at 4:41 a.m. Tarrant County chose not to provide any response to the following fields: death code, manner of death description, custody code, code of charges, intoxicated, and medical treatment description. Tarrant County did indicate that Ms. Price did not make any suicidal statements and did not exhibit any mental health problems.

Tarrant County gave, as we indicate above, very brief summary description of what occurred:

“The inmate was housed in a double cell with another female. The deceased fell asleep and slept throughout the night. When breakfast trays were being served, the officer discovered she would not wake up and found her deceased.”

The summary description does not notify the public as to whether Ms. Price had been checked periodically as required by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, whether she had been ill, whether there are any other issues related to her death, and quite frankly no details at all as to what occurred. Hopefully, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, and Texas Rangers, will investigate what occurred. Once again, we are not alleging any wrongdoing regarding Ms. Price’s death. However, it is important that such in-custody deaths be appropriately investigated.

People like Ms. Price, who are incarcerated in county jails in Texas, and who have not been convicted of anything, are entitled pursuant to the United States Constitution to receive reasonable medical care. If jail officers are deliberately indifferent to an inmate’s medical needs, and the inmate dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to assert claims in federal court. Likewise, if a policy, practice, and/or custom of a sheriff’s department results in such a death, then the county could be liable. These cases are filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, asserting claims violations of the Fourth Amendment and/or Fourteenth Amendment.

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