Among the 241 county jails inspected by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), many have been non-compliant in connection with using restraints, including restraint chairs. This is a cause for concern because inmates frequently experience medical emergencies and many suffer a custodial death in connection with restraints.

A nationwide review of restraint chairs by a watchdog group revealed that it is routine to inappropriately use restraint chairs on intoxicated individuals or in conjunction with tasers, pepper spray, and/or inadequate supervision, resulting in a heightened risk of injury or death. The following are accounts of two custodial deaths in county jails outside Texas.

Unsupervised

For the second time in a 24-hour period, a man was placed in a restraint chair. He was left unsupervised and found unresponsive 45 minutes later.

Intoxicated Inmate

A woman in a county jail was placed in a restraint chair after an assessment showing her to be a suicide risk.* Her arms, legs, and chest were strapped in. Due to a blood alcohol level triple the legal limit, the woman slumped in the restraint chair. This caused the restraining straps to choke her, which resulted in her death a few days later. Records showed that she had not been monitored as required during restraint in the chair. On an intermittent basis, she was only observed through the jail cell door’s small window.

*Note that in Texas, standards specify that inmates must not be placed in restraint chairs as a way to prevent suicide. Also, face-to-face observations must occur every 15 minutes, during which time the blood circulation of the individual must be checked.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this continuing series to learn more about risks associated with restraint chairs.

Posts on this website are intended as helpful resources for Texas prisoners in local jails. At no time is there an intent to infer that wrongs have occurred on the part of any institution or individual.

–Guest Contributor