Health Risks Associated with Restraint Chairs

Studies on the effects of restraint chairs have found various health risks associated with being strapped into one of the highly restrictive devices. Death is among the proven risks. When a person is strapped into a restraint chair, force is often required. This is significant because when any type of physical trauma is followed by immobility, there is an increased risk of suffering a pulmonary embolism or potentially fatal blood clots.

County Jail Inmates Die in a Restraint Chair

There have been numerous reports of restraint chair abuse, and many inmates in county jails have died for medical reasons either in a restraint chair or as a direct result of being in one.

• In a New York county jail, a man who had repeatedly struck his head against a wall and a toilet was strapped into a restraint chair. A football helmet was placed on his head. Immobilized, with blood trickling down his face, and having received no medical treatment, he was found dead in the restraint chair two hours after he was placed there.

• On another occasion in the same New York county jail, an inmate was strapped into the same restraint chair referenced in the account above. The man began experiencing epileptic seizures. He started vomiting, and jail guards were aware of this situation. No help was given to clear the inmate’s airway or help him breathe. The jail guards left him alone as he was strapped into the chair, and he choked to death on his own vomit.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 of this ongoing series.

This website aims to serve as a source of helpful information that could be beneficial to inmates in Texas municipal and county jails. Making accusations against people or organizations is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor