Danny Carrillo Dies After Use-of-Force Incident in Nueces County Jail – Texas Rangers Investigate

The Nueces County Sheriff’s Office, in Corpus Christi Texas, recently filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Danny Carrillo. Information in this post was obtained from that report. We make no allegation of any wrongdoing, but instead are simply providing information. It is uncertain why the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office did not filed a custodial death report until over two months after Mr. Carrillo’s death, when Texas law requires that such custodial death report be filed no later than 30 days after such a death.

The incident leading to Mr. Carrillo’s death occurred at approximately 1:30 AM on March 5, 2018. A jail corporal arrived at the Nueces County jail to assist an officer with the escort of Mr. Carrillo to a second floor medical station to be evaluated. Mr. Carrillo had displayed an altered mental status and was making threats to a unit officer.

After arrival to Cell Number 44, where Mr. Carrillo was housed, officers found that Mr. Carrillo had jammed the door with his mattress. Mr. Carrillo refused to step away from the door as asked. Once the door was opened, and the mattress was cleared, Mr. Carrillo hit the officer on the right side of his face. Officers requested assistance via radio, and other officers arrived.

Officers had inmate Carrillo in a prone position – face down. Mr. Carrillo would not comply with instructions. Instead, Mr. Carrillo attempted to bite officers and refused to extend his hands – presumably to allow him to be handcuffed. An officer used a Taser, in drive-stun mode. However, this was ineffective. Ultimately, officers were able to secure Mr. Carrillo’s hands in handcuffs.

As officers attempted to assist Mr. Carrillo to his feet, he was unresponsive. CPR was ultimately administered, and EMS were notified. EMS arrived at 1:50 AM. Mr. Carrillo was taken to an area hospital and pronounced deceased at 2:28 AM.

Presumably, an autopsy will be conducted. We are uncertain as to what happened regarding Mr. Carrillo, regarding the cause of his death, but Mr. Carrillo may have died of positional asphyxiation. Positional asphyxiation generally occurs when a person is placed in a position in which he or she cannot breathe. Texas Rangers will be investigating Mr. Carrillo’s death.

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