Many custodial deaths involving restraints have similar scenarios in that the subject is on drugs, is placed in a physical restraint of some kind, and is sometimes tased one or more times just before breathing stopped.

Physical Restraint a Contributing Factor

Officers in Texas were attempting to arrest a 37-year-old man. He was behaving in an agitated, combative, and incoherent manner. Officers subdued the man, who appeared to be under the influence of drugs. Officers tried to place a protective suit helmet on the man, to prevent injury to his head.

The man was arrested, and he was placed in a padded cell at the jail. Shortly afterward, detention personnel noticed that the man appeared to have stopped breathing. Medical care was requested, and he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Although the above notes from the custodial death report do not provide details on the physical restraint of the inmate, the cause of death involved drug toxicity, physiologic stress, and a violent struggle complicated by physical restraint.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this continuing series on custodial deaths in Texas associated with the use of restraints. In the next segment, learn about the death of a 23-year-old male. A contributing cause of death was an electrical shock from the discharge of a taser during attempted police restraint.

This site’s posts are intended to help Texas inmates and their families. There is never an intention to infer wrongs on the part of any person or entity.

–Guest Contributor