Texas Inmates in Restraint Chairs are Vulnerable to Abuse-Pt.3

Continuation of Texas Juvenile Justice Department Rule §351.46–Restraint Chair

• The following are the continued guidelines for an inmate’s length of confinement in a restraint chair:
  • Each of the following types of licensed medical professionals are approved as an individual who can examine the condition of an inmate in a restraint chair before approving or denying the approval of stay in the chair longer than 1 hour:
    • Doctor (MD)
    • Paramedic
    • Physician’s assistant (PA)
    • Registered nurse (RN)
    • Emergency medical technician (EMT)
    • Emergency medical services (EMS/fire rescue)
    • Licensed vocational nurse (LVN)
  • Within a 24-hour period, no inmate can be restrained in a restraint chair longer than 5 hours, which is the maximum total time.
• The administrator of the facility or designee shall authorize each use of the restraint chair.
• Whenever the restraint chair is occupied, it must be placed in an area where the other facility residents have minimum access to visibility.
• Restraint chairs must be inspected and maintained on a routine basis.
• The following are prohibitions with regard to the use of restraint chairs:
  • If a restraint chair has been modified, customized, or altered in any way from the original manufactured state and intended use, it cannot be used.
  • The restraint chair cannot be used for the sole purpose of confining a high-risk inmate who has been designated as suicidal.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and this ongoing series.

Helping county and municipal inmates in Texas, whether incarcerated now or previously, is the purpose of this website. There is never an intention on this site of accusing individuals or entities of involvement in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor

Written By: smchugh

smchugh