Inmate Dies After Being Placed in a Straitjacket

A 38-year-old man who had been exhibiting violent behavior was taken to the sally port of a Texas county jail. The sally port is the garage at a jail where law enforcement vehicles pull in. They close the garage door to create a secure environment. While being removed from the vehicle, the suspect immediately resumed his violent behavior. Officers agreed that he should be taken to a violent cell in order to prevent self-injury. The jailers managed to get the suspect into the jail cell. They decided to place him in a straitjacket to further prevent injury. During this process, the officers realized that the suspect was turning blue.

Procedures to resume breathing were implemented, and emergency medical services were called. In the meantime, the suspect did not have a pulse, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated. When EMS arrived, they continued to administer CPR. The man was revived, stabilized, and transported to a nearby hospital, where hospital staff pronounced him dead. The cause of death was heart failure induced by methamphetamine.

Contributing Cause of Death: Restraint

Police responded to a scene where a 42-year-old man was rolling on the ground and screaming. Officers and paramedics detained him, placed him on the ground, and put handcuffs on him. As paramedics were evaluating the man’s condition, officers helped by holding the man on the ground. The man stopped breathing during this process. CPR was administered and the man was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The reported cause of death was atherosclerotic hypertensive cardiovascular disease together with acute methamphetamine intoxication and complicated by an increase in physiologic stress associated with struggle and restraint.

See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series on custodial deaths in Texas associated with the use of restraints.

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–Guest Contributor