Robert John Barela Commits Suicide in El Paso, Texas Jail
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, in El Paso, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Robert John Barela. Mr. Barela was only 37 years old at the time of his death. We provide information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.
The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:
“While officers were conducting a security check, they observed Barela hanging from the ceiling (single person cell) by a bedsheet. Officers lowered Barela and began administering first aid. Medical staff arrived and began providing first aid until Emergency Medical Technicians arrived and transported him to a local hospital. He passed away on 02/23/22 at 1350 hours.”
Thus, the report provides very little information about what led to Mr. Barela’s suicide. The report does not address how often Mr. Barela was observed, whether jailers made the appropriate checks, and what information the jail possessed regarding Mr. Barela’s suicidal tendencies. The report does indicate that Mr. Barela did not make suicidal statements or exhibit any mental health problems. Regardless, there have been a number of deaths in the El Paso County, Texas jail recently, including suicides.
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of those who are incarcerated in Texas county jails to receive reasonable mental health care. It also includes the right to be protected from one’s own suicidal tendencies. If jailers are deliberately indifferent to suicidal tendencies, or a policy, practice, or custom leads to a custodial death, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a lawsuit for violation of constitutional rights.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone