Standards of Procedure for the Use of Restraint Chairs

The following are details about standards of procedure regarding the use of restraint chairs in a county outside Texas.

When Can Restraint Chairs be Used?

The following are occasions in which restraint chairs may be used:

• The inmate is making overt attempts to assault jail personnel, visitors, or other prisoners

• To temporarily control prisoners whose behavior may result in or is likely to result in:
  • Physical harm to the inmate or others
  • Destruction of property

Guidelines for Using Restraint Chairs

• When it is necessary to restrain a prisoner in his or her location, the mobile restraint chair may be relocated to any place in the facility.

• Prisoners who have been placed in a restraint chair shall be kept physically separated from other inmates.

• The following are duties the ranking supervisor on duty is responsible for when an inmate is in a restraint chair. Each shall be completed and updated as mandated:
  • Assessments of medical and mental health
  • Logs for Special Housing Observation
  • Restraint Chair/Fluid Assessment Logs
  • Incident reports

Placement of Restraint Chairs

Manufacturer’s instructions must be followed for the placement of an inmate in a restraint chair, as shown below and in the next segment in this series:

• The placement of a prisoner in a restraint chair must be authorized by a sergeant or above, and that individual must be present and directly supervise the placement of the inmate in the restraint chair.
• An inmate may only be placed in a restraint chair by staff who have been trained in the use of the restraint chair, and the chair itself must be approved restraint equipment.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.

On this website, helpful resources are available to Texas inmates incarcerated in city and county jails. There is never an intention of insinuating that people or entities have participated in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor