The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Department, located in Bastrop, Texas, filed a custodial death report with Attorney General Ken Paxton regarding the death of Timothy Daniels. Mr. Daniels was only 53 years of age at the time of his death. We provide in this post information obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.
The summary in the report is much shorter than we are accustomed to reading, and it provides very little information regarding Mr. Daniels’ death. It indicates that Mr. Daniels’ cause of death is unknown at this time, pending an autopsy. Aside from that, it contains one sentence: “Believed to be possibly due to a medical issue and/or withdrawal from use of heroin.”
The report also indicates that Mr. Daniels exhibited medical problems. The report indicates that Mr. Daniels was arrested at 12:12 a.m. on September 19, 2019, and that he was pronounced as being deceased at 12:47 a.m. on September 20, 2019.
The United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial detainees to receive reasonable medical care. Jailers, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and other governmental officials cannot be deliberately indifferent to such a person’s medical needs. Families of someone who dies as a result of any such deliberate indifference can bring claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. These claims are typically brought in federal court. This is just general information regarding constitutional rights and does not necessarily apply to Mr. Daniels’ situation.
