Terry County Jail in Brownfield, Texas 79316 is located at 1311 Tahoka Road. The jail’s bed capacity is 174, and the contact phone number is (806) 637-2212. The Terry County Sheriff handles Terry County Jail operations. The rules, procedures, and minimum standards for operating a jail are promulgated and implemented by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). Jails that are found to be non-compliant receive a jail inspection report with details of their alleged violations.

Restraint Chairs

Rules regarding the custody, treatment, and care of Texas inmates in county jails are determined by TCJS. Those rules specify that jailers are permitted to use restraints when inmates are behaving in a way that endangers themselves or others. Restraint chairs are among the approved restraint devices in Texas.

Controversy about restraint chairs has grown in recent years as a result of various studies and investigations conducted by watchdog groups. The fact that risks are associated with restraint chairs is not new information, however. Inherent dangers that apply even when the chairs are used precisely as advised by manufacturers’ instructions include the risk of developing a blood clot referred to as a pulmonary embolism, which can be deadly.

The dangers of restraint chairs are further heightened due to abuses by jail staff members. Inmates strapped into these devices are rendered immobile, and their vulnerability has been exploited by numerous jailers throughout the United States. Information about these abuses and deaths associated with restraint chairs has led to banning the devices in various jurisdictions, though it’s likely that none are in Texas.

This site’s posts are offered as resources that could be useful to inmates housed in Texas county jails. There is never an intent to denote that persons or entities have been involved in improprieties. 

–Guest Contributor