Michael Robert Kozletsky Commits Suicide in the Menard, Texas County Jail
The Menard County Sheriff’s Department, in Menard, Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Michael Robert Kozletsky. Mr. Kozletsky was only 42 years old at the time of his death. We provide information obtained from that report, and we do not allege in this post any wrongdoing related to Mr. Kozeltsky’s death.
Mr. Kozletsky was originally incarcerated on May 14, 2020 in the Menard County jail. He was arrested by a DPS trooper as a result of a crash investigation. He was then transported to a local hospital for a blood draw and checked for injuries. He allegedly refused medical treatment and was then transported to the Menard County jail.
Mr. Kozletsky was dressed out in jail clothing and started the booking process. After a phone call, he became agitated. The booking process ceased, and given Mr. Kozletsky’s earlier behavior, he was placed in a cell under a 30-minute watch.
On May 15, 2020, the jailer on duty conducted checks and found that Mr. Kozletzky had committed suicide by hanging himself with jail clothing “between checks while jailer was dealing with another inmate.” Mr. Kozletsky was transported by EMS and pronounced deceased at a San Angelo hospital on May 16, 2020.
As a general matter, people who are suicidal in Texas county jails should not be dressed in standard-issued jail clothing. It is well known in the corrections community that suicidal people will use items in a cell to attempt to commit suicide by hanging. Telephone cords, jail-issued clothing and bedding, shoe laces, and drawstrings are common items used by people to commit suicide.
The custodial death report regarding Mr. Kozletsky, in response to the question whether he made suicidal statements, reads, “Yes.” If jailers were deliberately indifferent to and/or acted in an unreasonable way regarding Mr. Kozletsy’s suicidal tendencies, then those jailers could be liable to certain surviving family members.
Moreover, a 30-minute watch policy, practice, or custom is completely insufficient to assure that a person does not commit suicide. It takes less than 10 minutes to commit suicide through asphyxiation. Merely checking on an inmate every 30 minutes will not prevent that inmate from committed suicide. It is a very simple equation. If a person can kill himself or herself in less than 10 minutes, then 30-minute checks will not keep that person alive if the person intends to commit suicide.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone