When Prisoner Juan Garcia Died in Garza County Jail in Post, Texas, Minimum Jail Standards were Allegedly Not Met
On February 9, 2018, Juan Raul Garcia Jr. died hours after being booked into Garza County Jail in Post, Texas. Garcia allegedly admitted that he had swallowed approximately one gram of methamphetamine and said he didn’t think he was going to survive. After this, he was allegedly not provided with any medical assistance, though he experienced significant physical problems. He was placed in a detox cell at about 4:45 pm and was pronounced dead by about 7 pm. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) conducted a special investigation of Garza County Jail, which is standard procedure following a custodial death in a county jail in Texas. According to a March 1, 2018, report, inspectors allegedly found that jailers neglected a jail standard directly linked to the prisoner’s health situation, and the jail was cited for it.
The alleged violated standard requires that when prisoners exhibit behavior suggesting that they are a danger to themselves or others, they must be managed in a manner that minimizes the threat of harm or injury. Every 15 minutes at most, the inmate must be observed. If the prisoner has been restrained in a humane manner, as required, those restraints must be checked during the observations, to ensure that circulation has not been cut off from any extremities.
Inspectors with TCJS say that the medical documentation related to Garcia was carefully reviewed. They allege that documentation shows minimum jail standards were not met because the required 15-minute observations of Garcia were not conducted.
Many jail standards are in place for the express purpose of ensuring that prisoners are not harmed while in custody. Prisoners have a right to needed medical treatment. When appropriate treatment is denied, resulting in serious harm or death, members of a jail staff plus officials in charge are sometimes charged with a crime.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
–Guest Contributor
smchugh
smchugh