Potter County, Texas Jail Inmate Dies After Being Restrained

A custodial death report was recently filed regarding the death of Genaro Rocha in Amarillo, Texas.  The report was filed by the Potter County Sheriff’s Department with the Texas Attorney General.  The Potter County Sheriff’s Department is located in Amarillo, Texas.  Mr. Rocha was only 47 years old at the time he died.  Information in this post was obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Rocha’s death. 

Mr. Rocha was initially incarcerated on July 21, 2019 at approximately 5:37 a.m.  On August 3, 2019, Mr. Rocha was behaving bizarrely in an isolation cell.  The report does not indicate why Mr. Rocha was in an isolation cell, or whether he had continuous mental health or other significant issues. 

Mr. Rocha was removed from the cell to allow it to be cleaned, and he became resistive and violent.  Mr. Rocha was placed into a WRAP restraint device at approximately 10:10 p.m. and put into a holding cell for observation.  He was observed every 15 minutes thereafter.

On August 4, 2019, at 12:12 a.m., officers went to Mr. Rocha to conduct a range-of-motion procedure.  During that procedure, Mr. Rocha continued to resist officers.  Officers used force to restrain Mr. Rocha.

Medical officers then arrived and checked on Mr. Rocha.  Medical officers cleared Mr. Rocha to be placed back into the WRAP. 

Immediately after being placed back into the WRAP, and while jail officers and medical officers were still with him, Mr. Rocha slumped over and became unresponsive.  He was then removed from the restraints.  CPR was conducted, beginning at approximately 12:34 a.m.  Mr. Rocha was pronounced deceased at 1:12 a.m.

Texas County jail inmates are entitled, by the United States Constitution, to reasonable healthcare and mental healthcare.  Further, excessive force cannot be used against pre-trial detainees.  Pre-trial detainees have not been convicted of anything, and they cannot be punished by jailers.  If jailers violate an inmate’s constitutional rights, jailers can be liable to family members who survive the inmate.  This is general information regarding the rights of county jail prisoners in Texas, and it does not necessarily have any relation to what occurred to Mr. Rocha. 

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.