Category: Custodial Death|Suicide|Texas Rangers

The Maverick County Sheriff’s Department filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas, regarding the death of Justin Sirio.  Mr. Sirio was only 30 years of age at the time of his death.  We make no allegation of any wrongdoing in this post against anyone related to Mr. Sirio’s death.  Instead, we are only providing information contained in that report.

Mr. Sirio was arrested and/or incarcerated at approximately 7:00 p.m. on March 10, 2020.  On Thursday, March 12, 2020, at approximately 9:45 p.m., while conducting a pill call, a jailer entered Cell 6 and observed the first cell closest to the window with a blanket covering the door.  The jailer gave orders to the inmate inhabiting the cell to remove the blanket.  When the inmate did not respond, the jailer entered the cell and discovered Mr. Sirio. 

Mr. Sirio had used a mattress cover to hang himself from the ventilation system.  The jailer immediately asked for backup over the radio.  EMS were also contacted.  Mr. Sirio was transported to an emergency room at Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center.  Mr. Sirio was unfortunately pronounced deceased by Judge Smith.

The Texas Rangers are investigating Mr. Sirio’s death.  This is typical in Texas when an inmate dies under circumstances like Mr. Sirio did.  Texas Rangers investigate any potential criminal acts resulting in someone’s death.  Texas Rangers do not conduct investigations to determine whether anyone has civil liability for the death of a pre-trial detainee in a Texas county jail.

The United States Constitution protects the rights of pre-trial detainees to receive reasonable medical and mental healthcare, and to be protected from themselves and others.  If jailers act in an objectively unreasonably manner, or are deliberately indifferent to known issues with an inmate.  Then they, and potentially their employer if other factors are in play, can be liable to certain family members who survive a deceased prisoner.

The Kirby Police Department, in Kirby, Texas, filed a custodial death report with Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton. The report was regarding the death of Amanda Lynn Watkins. Ms. Watkins was only 36 years old at the time of her death. We make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Ms. Watkins’ death but instead are simply providing information obtained from that custodial death report.  Texas police departments and county jails are required to file custodial death reports when a person dies in custody.

Ms. Watkins was placed in custody after an alleged domestic dispute. She was treated on-scene by EMS for an injury she received during that dispute. She was then transported to a hospital by EMS. She was taken into custody by an officer and transported to the Kirby Police Department.

It has been our experience, as a Texas civil rights law firm handling jail death cases, that some cities in Texas will have what they refer to as a “holding facility.” A holding facility looks like a small jail, and it is not designed to keep prisoners for a lengthy period of time. Generally,  cities are not equipped to incarcerate inmates for a lengthy period of time. Most cities do not have trained or certified jailers. We make no allegations in this post as to whether the Kirby Police Department does or does not have certified jailers, and/or was able to handle Ms. Watkins’ situation.

Ms. Watkins was placed into a holding cell at the Kirby jail while police officers completed paperwork before transporting her to a magistrate’s office. A female police officer conducted a prisoner check and found Ms. Watkins to be unresponsive. Ms. Watkins had committed suicide using her pants, which she had tied around her neck. EMS ultimately arrived and attempted to resuscitate Ms. Watkins. Unfortunately, they were not successful. Ms. Watkins was declared deceased at 11:54 a.m.

The Texas Rangers and Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office were called to the scene to conduct an investigation. It is common, when a custodial death occurs in a smaller city or county in Texas, for the Texas Rangers to conduct an investigation. Texas Rangers do not attempt to determine during such an investigation whether there is civil liability for a custodial death. Instead, Texas Rangers are concerned about any potential criminal conduct leading to the death under investigation.

The San Benito Police Department, in Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Ernesto Alonso Gonzalez.  Information in this post was obtained from that custodial death report.  We do not allege that anyone committed any wrongdoing related to Mr. Gonzalez’s death.  Instead, we are simply providing information.

Mr. Gonzalez was arrested on November 22, 2019 at approximately 4:28 p.m.  When he was in custody, he was placed alone in a San Benito Police Department cell.  At approximately 10:00 p.m., an officer went into the jail area to speak with Mr. Gonzalez.  Mr. Gonzalez was requesting medication.  The officer said that when he asked Mr. Gonzalez if he had the medication in his property, he replied that he did not.  He said that he wanted to make a phone call.  The officer stated that Mr. Gonzalez was not provided with a phone call because he had already received one before being placed into the jail cell. 

The next entry in the summary portion of the report indicates that an officer entered the jail area at 2:55 a.m. on the following day.  Thus, we are uncertain as to whether Mr. Gonzalez had not been observed for nearly five hours prior to that time.  The officer entered the jail area to take a bathroom break and conduct a jail check.  When the officer walked past the cell where Mr. Gonzalez was located, he observed that Mr. Gonzalez had wrapped a shirt around his neck and was hanging from a rail in the jail cell.  An officer said that Mr. Gonzalez was limp and cold to the touch.  Mr. Gonzalez was deceased.  The Texas Rangers are investigating Mr. Gonzalez’s death. 

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards governs county jails in Texas.  Unfortunately, it does not have jurisdiction over city jails such as the San Benito Police Department jail.  There are certain standards in place for cell checks in Texas.  If Mr. Gonzalez was not checked on for approximately five hours, that would likely violate every known jail standard.

Without regard with what happened to Mr. Gonzalez, Texas prisoners are entitled to be protected from themselves and others.  That protection includes protection from suicide.  Jailers cannot be deliberately indifferent to prisoners’ medical and/or mental health needs.  If jailers are deliberately indifferent, or act objectively unreasonably, they and/or their employer can be liable to an injured person or, if the person passes away as a result, to certain of the person’s family members.  These cases are usually filed by civil rights attorneys in Texas federal court.

The Terry County Sheriff’s Department, in Brownfield, Texas, recently filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Rodney Shane Howard.  Mr. Howard was only 32 years of age at the time of his death.  We provide information obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Howard’s death.

On September 12, 2019, at approximately 8:30 p.m., a jailer was making rounds and looked into the cell in which Mr. Howard was housed.  The female jailer saw what appeared to be Mr. Howard hanging in the shower stall.  The jailer called for help, and she and another jailer entered the cell. 

EMS was called, and the female jailer went to the control room to get a tool to cut Mr. Howard down.  After EMS arrived, Mr. Howard was transferred by ambulance to the Brownfield Regional Medical Center.

Mr. Howard was stabilized.  However, he had apparently suffered significant brain damage.  Charges against Mr. Howard were dismissed, and his family was notified, on Monday, September 16, 2019.  Mr. Howard was removed from life support on Monday, September 23, 2019, and he passed away the following day. 

The report indicates that an autopsy will be conducted.  Our law firm finds that it is typical in such deaths for the Texas Rangers to conduct an investigation.  The Texas Rangers typically conduct such an investigation for any potential criminal conduct related to the death.  Thus, Texas Rangers do not investigate an incident to determine whether anyone has civil liability.

Without regard to Mr. Howard’s situation, as a general matter, pre-trial detainees in Texas county jails have rights to reasonable medical care, reasonable mental healthcare, and to be protected from themselves and others.  If an inmate is suicidal and/or likely to harm himself, jailers and counties have constitutional obligations to act.  They cannot be deliberately indifferent and/or act in an unreasonable manner.  If they do, there can be liability for such constitutional violations.  Such lawsuits are typically brought in federal courts.