Zachary Daniels Dies After Being in Fort Bend County Jail
The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department, in Richmond, Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Zachary Daniels. Mr. Daniels was only 22 years old at the time of his death. We provide information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.
The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:
“Decedent was housed within a cell block dedicated for those experiencing mental health issues and determined to be unable to comingle within general population. The decedent was within a single occupancy cell during which time he fashioned a bedsheet, which he tied around his neck and the bars of the cell door. The supervising officer discovered the incident, cut down the inmate and initiated CPR along with summoning medical aid from staff. The decedent was transported to Oak Bend Medical Hospital where resuscitation efforts continued. Ultimate death was pronounced at 7:05 pm and subsequent autopsy completed at the Fort Bend County Medical Examiner’s Office. Investigation conducted by Texas Ranger’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Fort Bend Medical Examiner’s Office and Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. Preliminary manner determined to be suicide and final autopsy report pending completion of laboratory analysis.”
The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department chose to leave several portions of the report blank, including the following named fields: Death Code; Manner of Death Description; Custody Code; Code of Charges; Intoxicated; and Medical Treatment Description. However, the report did indicate that Mr. Daniels made suicidal statements and exhibited mental health problems. The report indicates nothing about whether Mr. Daniels was on a constant watch, which our law firm believes is appropriate for a person who is suicidal, and it likewise does not indicate how often, if at all, observations were made of Mr. Daniels.
Our Texas law firm has handled and is handling a number of jail suicide cases. It makes little sense to house a person who is suicidal and/or, as described in the summary above, experiencing mental health issues to the point he or she cannot co-mingle with general population, in a cell with items that can be used as ligatures. Inmates commonly use bed sheets, clothing, phone cords, and/or any other cloth available in the cell to form ligatures to commit suicide. If a person is suicidal, courts have held that putting that person into a cell with material with which he can form a ligature, and with one or more tie points, can violate that person’s constitutional rights by being deliberately indifferent to that person’s suicidal tendencies.
There is no excuse for placing a suicidal inmate, if that is in fact what happened in this case, into a cell with items that can be used to form ligatures and with tie-off points. Our law firm sees this occurrence far too often, not only in Texas but across the United States. If jailers are deliberately indifferent to a suicidal person’s mental health needs, and the person dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to bring a lawsuit. Likewise, if a policy, practice, and/or custom of a County causes such a death, the County could also be liable to certain surviving family members.
The report indicates that several agencies will be conducting an investigation. The Texas Rangers investigate such cases only for criminal offenses, and not to determine whether a person’s constitutional rights were violated and/or whether claims by family members may be brought. Once a Texas Ranger completes his or her investigation, he or she will typically turn over a report and materials to a district attorney’s office. The district attorney’s office might then submit potential charges to a grand jury. Many counties across Texas do this as a standard practice, even if they do not believe that any criminal offense led to the death of a person in custody. The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office will conduct its own investigation and has likely already interviewed jailers and others on duty when Mr. Daniels was brought to the jail and at the time of the occurrence leading to his death. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards will also likely conduct an investigation of Mr. Daniels’ death.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone