Eric Dominguez Dies in El Paso County, Texas Jail

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, in Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Eric Dominguez. Mr. Dominguez was only 35 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post information from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On 12/06/2021 at approximately 10:08pm. Officers were conducting security rounds of tank 1080 which is an administrative segregation tank, single inmate lock down. During the security check Cpl. Lopez observed inmate Dominguez sitting on the floor near the cell door slumped over. Cpl. Perez knocked on the cell window, there was no response from the inmate, Cpl. Perez opened the cell door, he touched his shoulder and called him by name still no response. Cpl. Perez checked for vital signs with no results. Medical staff was notified first aid was administered along with the deployment of an A.E.D. Inmate was transported to a local area hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:58pm. by Dr. Jeramy Williamson. It should be noted that at approximately 7:58pm. Officer DeSantigo and Nurse Dustan were dispensing medication to Dominguez at this time Dominguez fell to the floor. Dominguez was then escorted to the Clinic for medical evaluation, he was treated and returned to his cell by Officer DeSantigo and Nurse Dustan. Investigation continues / Autopsy pending.”

The report also indicates that Mr. Dominguez did not make any suicidal statements or exhibit any mental health problems. We are uncertain as to how often Mr. Dominguez would have been checked, but hopefully at least as often as that required by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). We find, from experience handling jail death cases across Texas, that TCJS standards are inadequate in certain circumstances. If a person dies as a result of not receiving medical care in a Texas jail, then certain surviving family members may be able to bring a lawsuit. The 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial detainees to receive medical care and to be protected.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.