Man Commits Suicide in San Benito, Texas Jail in Cameron County
The San Benito Police Department, in Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Ernesto Alonso Gonzalez. Information in this post was obtained from that custodial death report. We do not allege that anyone committed any wrongdoing related to Mr. Gonzalez’s death. Instead, we are simply providing information.
Mr. Gonzalez was arrested on November 22, 2019 at approximately 4:28 p.m. When he was in custody, he was placed alone in a San Benito Police Department cell. At approximately 10:00 p.m., an officer went into the jail area to speak with Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Gonzalez was requesting medication. The officer said that when he asked Mr. Gonzalez if he had the medication in his property, he replied that he did not. He said that he wanted to make a phone call. The officer stated that Mr. Gonzalez was not provided with a phone call because he had already received one before being placed into the jail cell.
The next entry in the summary portion of the report indicates that an officer entered the jail area at 2:55 a.m. on the following day. Thus, we are uncertain as to whether Mr. Gonzalez had not been observed for nearly five hours prior to that time. The officer entered the jail area to take a bathroom break and conduct a jail check. When the officer walked past the cell where Mr. Gonzalez was located, he observed that Mr. Gonzalez had wrapped a shirt around his neck and was hanging from a rail in the jail cell. An officer said that Mr. Gonzalez was limp and cold to the touch. Mr. Gonzalez was deceased. The Texas Rangers are investigating Mr. Gonzalez’s death.
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards governs county jails in Texas. Unfortunately, it does not have jurisdiction over city jails such as the San Benito Police Department jail. There are certain standards in place for cell checks in Texas. If Mr. Gonzalez was not checked on for approximately five hours, that would likely violate every known jail standard.
Without regard with what happened to Mr. Gonzalez, Texas prisoners are entitled to be protected from themselves and others. That protection includes protection from suicide. Jailers cannot be deliberately indifferent to prisoners’ medical and/or mental health needs. If jailers are deliberately indifferent, or act objectively unreasonably, they and/or their employer can be liable to an injured person or, if the person passes away as a result, to certain of the person’s family members. These cases are usually filed by civil rights attorneys in Texas federal court.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone