Adam Talavera died in the El Paso County Jail Annex in El Paso, Texas, on June 4, 2022. The Annex is the largest division inside the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Mr. Talavera was in a cell in the booking center of the law enforcement facility when he was discovered unresponsive on the day of his death. According to the custodial death report (CDR), Mr. Talavera caused his own death.

El Paso County Jail Allegedly Failed to Comply with Inmate Observation Requirements

June 2017 Jail Inspection Report

In a Jail Inspection Report dated June 6-9, 2017, an inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) cites RULE §265.3-Observation During Holding. The rule states that when an inmate has been placed in a detoxification cell or a holding cell, they must be observed by jail personnel at intervals that do not exceed 30 minutes. The following reflect the TCJS inspector’s notes:

• The face-to-face observation logs for inmates in the detoxification and holding cells of the Downtown Jail were reviewed, and it was discovered that jailers exceeded the 30-minute welfare checks on numerous occasions by 1 minute up to 55 minutes.

October 2017 Jail Inspection Report

In a Special Jail Inspection Report dated October 30, 2017, a TCJS inspector cited the El Paso County Jail for an alleged violation of RULE §275.1-Regular Observation by Jailers. In areas where inmates are known to be mentally ill, potentially suicidal, or who have been behaving in a bizarre manner, face-to-face observations must be performed at least every 30 minutes. The inspector’s notes refer to Robert Gallegos, who died at the El Paso County jail on September 16, 2017. The CDR indicates that peritonitis due to a ruptured bowel caused his death. The TCJS inspector gave a lengthy explanation regarding the findings, including the following information:

• Documentation and video records were reviewed. It was found that jailers failed to perform the required observations of inmates. Details about the observation of inmate Robert Gallegos, in particular, were provided, including the statement that jailers exceeded the 30-minute requirement by between 2 minutes and 11 hours 7 minutes.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.

The purpose of this website is to assist inmates who have been incarcerated in Texas city and county facilities. Implicating persons or institutions in misdeeds is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor