The El Paso County Jail Inspection Instigated by the Death of Roberto Gallegos Identifies Alleged Jail Standards Violations
Following the custodial death of 58-year-old Roberto Gallegos in El Paso County Jail, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) inspected the El Paso, Texas, jail. It is standard procedure for TCJS to conduct a special inspection, to check for possible violations of minimum jail standards that could have potentially contributed to the death. TCJS found four alleged violations of minimum jail standards. Information follows:
- Medical staff at El Paso County Jail allegedly failed to administer medications according to protocol. A video review allegedly showed that the medical staff did not observe prisoner Robert Gallegos taking his medications. During the in-custody death investigation, the investigator discovered that medication the prisoner was supposed to have taken was in his cell on the table.
- Medication administration records found that medications were not given to the prisoner according to the doctor’s orders.
- Observations of prisoners who are mentally ill, potentially suicidal, assaultive, or exhibiting bizarre behavior are supposed to be performed by jailers every 30 minutes. Documentation and video shows that jailers allegedly failed to conduct the required face-to-face observations for prisoners in separation cells in keeping with minimum jail standards. Investigators with TCJS confirmed and verified that prisoners in the cellblock where Gallegos was located were supposed to have observations at least every 30 minutes. The 30-minute time period was allegedly exceeded by as few as 2 minutes and by as many as 11 hours and 7 minutes.
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