Texas County Jails Cited Regarding Deficiencies with Mention of Deceased Inmates Continued

A second alleged violation by the El Paso County Jail in El Paso, Texas, of minimum jail standards in the October 30, 2017, Special Inspection Report mentions deceased inmate Robert Gallegos. During an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), a deficiency was found with Rule §275.1. This rule requires inmates who are possibly suicidal, mentally ill, assaultive or found to be exhibiting bizarre behavior to have supervision in intervals that do not exceed every 30 minutes. An inspector with TCJS indicated the following:

Video and written observation records were reviewed, and it was discovered that jailers did not perform face-to-face observation of the inmates in separation cells, as required by minimum jail standards. It was confirmed and verified in regard to the in-custody death of inmate Robert Gallegos that inmates housed in POD 1400 Cellblock 10 must be observed in these 30-minute intervals. Observation records from videos and logs showed that the timing of observations exceeded the required time frame by anywhere from 2 minutes to 11 hours and 7 minutes.

See Parts 1 through 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, and Part 19 of this ongoing series.

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–Guest Contributor