Category: Medical Care

The Castro County jail failed a November 23, 2020 inspection conducted by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The Castro County jail is located in Dimmitt, Texas.

The TCJS inspector determined that the Castro County jail violated two minimum standards. Every Texas jail is required to have a fire prevention plan, and to be inspected annually by a local fire official. The Castro County jail failed to meet this standard, and the inspector noted that the last Fire Marshal inspection was conducted in March 2019. Thus, the Castro County jail was seven months overdue on the inspection.

A second minimum standard which the jail violated is a serious standard, as it relates to inmate safety, based upon our law firm’s litigation of a number of jail death cases across Texas. A minimum jail standard requires that inmates confined in a holding cell or detoxification cell must be observed by jail personnel at intervals not to exceed thirty minutes. However, at the Castro County jail, the thirty-minute face-to-face observations in holding and detoxification cells continuously exceeded the thirty-minute standard by as little as ten minutes and by as much as thirty minutes. While we do not have any information that anyone at the Castro County jail suffered injury or death as a result, failing to properly observe inmates is what leads to injury and/or death.

We frequently find that when inmates are not watched periodically, or continuously if necessary (such as an inmate on suicide watch), inmate safety is at risk. If an inmate dies or suffers serious injury as a result of deliberate indifference and/or objective unreasonableness of jailers, then jailers can be liable for damages in a subsequent lawsuit.

The Dickens County jail, in Dickens, Texas failed a State jail inspection on September 25, 2020. The Dickens County jail is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspectors found that, on the day of inspection, provided documentation did not indicate that all Dickens County jail staff had received life safety training immediately upon employment and at least one each calendar quarter. This is a requirement of Texas minimum jail standards. Hopefully, the Dickens County jail will bring itself into compliance and assure that all of its personnel have been properly trained.

The Starr County Sheriff’s Department filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Edgar Garza. Mr. Garza was only 32 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Garza’s death. Instead, we are providing general information. Our Texas civil rights law firm keeps track of custodial deaths in Texas in attempts to keep the public apprised of what is occurring in Texas jails.

The new custodial death form, implemented fairly recently, is only two pages. Unfortunately, the shorter form provides less information to the public. The form regarding Mr. Garza’s death indicates that Mr. Garza was arrested and died on October 18, 2020.

The Starr County Sheriff’s Department chose not to complete all fields in the form, and failed to provide any information for the following fields: Death Code; Manner of Death Description; Custody Code; Code of Charges; Intoxicated; and Medical Treatment Description. The Starr County Sheriff’s Department indicated that Mr. Garza did not make any suicidal statements, did not exhibit any mental health problems, and did not exhibit any medical problems.

The summary portion of the report read in its entirety:

“On October 18,2020 at 9:22pm inmate Edgar Garza D.O.B. 3/2/1988 from 374 Victoria Ave. Roma, Texas was brought in to the Starr County Detention Center, 100 East 6th Street Rio Grande City, Texas 78582. Edgar Garza was arrested by Starr County Sheriff’s Office Deputies for the charge of Unauthorized use of a Motor Vehicle. Inmate Edgar Garza is screened for suicide and mental developmental impairments and answers negative to all the questions. After being processed and booked, inmate Garza was placed in the holding cell with another inmate at 9:57pm. At 11:15pm Guard conducts a face to face check on the holding cell inmates. At that time inmate Garza is laying on the bench by the door. At 11:19pm inmate Garza gets up and removes his pants, exposing basketball shorts being worn under his pants. Inmate Garza then makes his way to the restroom stalls, which are covered with metal partitions. Inmate Garza is seen on camera moving around over the top of the partition. At 11:27pm the Guard does a cell check on the detox cell, which is next to holding cell, to check on a problematic inmate in that cell. At 11:36 the Guard does a cell check on the holding cell while inmate Garza is in the restroom stall. At 11:59pm the Guard does another round of checks when he notices inmate Garza’s feet through the bottom of the partition. The Guard immediately makes his way into the holding cell to find inmate Garza hanging from the partition support beam. The Guard calls for assistance. Other Guards arrive to assist. The first Guard M undoes the knot from the beam and the second Guard removes the rope around Inmate Garza’s neck and begins to administer first aid. Shortly thereafter EMS arrives and it is determined that Edgar Garza has no vital signs. I, Chief Jailer , was notified of the situation as it was happening via telephone. As I arrived at the Jail, I contacted The Texas Rangers and briefed them of the situation. I also requested a patrol officer and Starr County Investigators to assist. The rope that inmate Garza used appeared to be the waist draw string from his shorts. Texas Rangers arrived and took over the investigation. Justice of the Peace arrived and pronounced Inmate Edgar Garza deceased and ordered an autopsy.”

Our Texas civil rights law firm has unfortunately handled a number of jail suicide cases, and suicides in Texas county jails and city holding facilities continue to be a significant problem. The United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial detainees to receive reasonable medical care and reasonable mental health care, and also to be protected from themselves if they are suicidal. If a jailer fails to act reasonably and/or is deliberately indifferent to needs of an inmate, and the inmate dies, the jailer may be liable to certain surviving family members pursuant to a federal cause of action. Once again, we are providing general information and make no allegation as to whether anyone acted inappropriately with regard to Mr. Garza’s death.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”) recently inspected the Walker County jail in Huntsville, Texas. As a result of the inspection, the Walker County jail is now listed as being non-compliant. The Walker County jail failed the inspection.

A minimum jail standard has certain requirements regarding use of restraints in a humane manner. TCJS inspectors noted that restraint chair logs indicated that Walker County jail staff exceeded the mandated 15-minute observation checks by as little as one minute and as much as 16 minutes on multiple occasions. Hopefully, the Walker County jail will bring itself into compliance with TCJS standards and treat inmates more humanely.

The San Jacinto County jail, in Coldspring, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The TCJS inspection occurred on October 14, 2020.

A TCJS inspector noted that food was not being prepared under the supervision of a staff member, as required by minimum jail standards. Moreover, inmates are not being offered physical recreation at least three days per week. Aside from this being a minimum jail standard, simple decency would require that inmates be provided some form of physical exercise.

The Red River County jail, in Clarksville, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The TCJS inspection occurred on October 7, 2020, and the Red River County jail is now listed as being non-compliant.

TCJS inspectors noted that the Red River County jail violated two minimum jail standards. First, minimum jail standards require that staff be trained for emergency situations immediately upon employment, and then no less than each calendar quarter, to include training regarding fire, emergency, evacuation drills, and location and use of equipment. However, at the Red River County jail, not all staff received required life-safety training during the second and third quarters.

TCJS inspectors also noted that the Red River County jail also violated a minimum standard regarding intake screening. That standard requires certain procedures to identify inmates who are known or observed to be mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal. TCJS inspectors noted that the Red River County jail is notifying a magistrate, but several magistrate notification forms were completed incorrectly and did not advise the magistrate of indicators documented on the mental health screening form.

The Delta County jail, in Cooper, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). TCJS inspectors determined that the Delta County jail violated a minimum jail standard. TCJS inspectors noted, during a review of life safety training, that Delta County jail staff did not sign training records for the first, second, and third quarters of 2020. Further, the individual conducting the training did not sign the training record. There was also no supporting documentation that life safety training was conducted on dates specified in training records. Hopefully, the Delta County Sheriff’s Office will bring its jail into compliance with TCJS standards.

The Rowlett Police Department filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Anderson Howard. Mr. Howard was only 25 years old at the time of his death. We provide information in this post obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing related to Mr. Howard’s death.

The summary portion of the report is extensive. Our Texas civil rights law firm reviews custodial death reports in Texas on a regular basis, and the summary in the report regarding Mr. Howard’s death is much longer than a typical custodial death report. The summary reads in its entirety:

“Initial Contact/Arrest: On 10/9/2020, at approximately 4:36am, Rowlett Police Officers were dispatched to 10010 Harmony Hill Ln, Rowlett, Dallas County, Texas, in reference to a driving while intoxicated event in progress. While Officers were enroute to the scene, Rowlett Police Dispatch advised the reporting party stated a driver of a large white in color box truck, with Ryder on the side, was stopped and the driver was unconscious. Upon arriving, Officers observed a white in color 2018 International box truck bearing Indiana LP# (2712613) with Ryder on the side, that was stopped in the parking lot (a public place with public access) of the apartment complex. Officers approached the driver/suspect side door of the vehicle, where officers found the driver to be unconscious at the wheel. Officers woke the suspect with a loud slap to the door which caused the suspect to sit up. Officers had the suspect exit the vehicle to prevent the suspect from driving the vehicle from the location and causing an accident. When the suspect exited the vehicle, the suspect immediately used the truck for balance and swayed back and forth. The suspect also exhibited signs of intoxication with glassy eyes, slurred speech, and spoke with a thick tongue. Officers asked the suspect if he had consumed any alcoholic beverage but the suspect answered he did not drink. Officers then asked the suspect if he would conduct a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) to which he stated he would. Before the start of the SFST’s, Officers verbally identified the suspect. Due to the signs of intoxication observed by Officers during the initial contact with the suspect and the clues from the SFSTs, Officers determined the suspect did not have the normal use of his mental and physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body. Officers then placed the suspect under arrest and into handcuffs, that were double locked and checked for tightness, for violation of Texas Penal Code Section 49.04(a) Driving While Intoxicated Class B misdemeanor. After placing the suspect into the prisoner compartment of the patrol car, he was read the Statutory Warning and gave consent for his blood to be drawn. While officers were speaking with the suspect, other officers were conducting an inventory of the vehicle when they located a tie-dyed colored bag with marijuana in a clear plastic bag and a second clear plastic bag with an unknown amount of white pills. Officers retrieved the bag and brought them to a patrol car for further investigation. When officers opened the baggie with the white pill a third black plastic baggie was located containing nine orange in color pills with the symbol of “AD”. Officers seized the marijuana and the pills for further identification and weights. Officers then transported the suspect to a local hospital to have his blood drawn. Upon arriving at the hospital, the officer was met by a registered nurse who drew the blood from the suspect at 5:40 am. After the completion of the blood draw, Officers transported the suspect to the Rowlett City Jail for processing and booking procedures accordingly. Once at the jail, the suspect was remanded into the jail staff’s custody. After the suspect was placed into the jail, the located pills and marijuana were weighed and identified. Officer used the website of (www.drugs.com) and was able to identify the orange pills as Adderall and the white pills as Xanax (Alprazolam). Due to two previous offenses that were reported (approximately less than an hour before) that stated a white truck with Ryder on the sides struck a wooden fence and then struck a parked vehicle that was unattended without leaving proper information at both scenes. With the evidence of the specific name of Ryder given by the previous reporting party, the current reporting party, and a piece of wood that was located in the front of the suspect’s vehicle that matched the color of the fence from the previous offense officers determined probable cause was met due to the affirmative links of the evidence from the previous offenses and the short time between the suspect leaving the scenes. Officers placed the additional charges of Duty Upon Striking a Fixture Class B and Duty Upon Striking An Unattended Vehicle Class B on the suspect. Jail/Detention : On Friday October 9th, 2020 at approximately 5:58am the subject entered the Rowlett Detention Center to be processed. Detention Officers Lunger # 5876 and Granado # 5836 were on duty during this time. Howard was arrested for the six Dallas County charges listed below: 1. Possession Controlled Substance in Penalty Group 31G.”

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has authority over Texas county jails and city jails that are operated by private companies. It is our understanding that the Rowlett Police Department operates its own jail and is therefore not under the authority of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Regardless, even though the Texas Commission on Jail Standards will likely not conduct an investigation into Mr. Howard’s death, our firm expects that either the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office or, in the alternative, the Texas Rangers will conduct an investigation.

The 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial inmates in Texas to receive reasonable medical care. If a jailer is deliberately indifferent to known medical needs, and a person dies as a result, then the jailer could be liable to certain surviving family members pursuant to a federal cause of action. Once again, we make no allegation of any wrongdoing regarding Mr. Howard’s death, but are instead simply providing general information.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Gilbert Kervlis. Mr. Kervlis was only 48 years old at the time of his death. We provide information in this post which we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Kervlis’s death.

The summary portion of the Texas custodial death reads in its entirety:

“On 9-28-20 at approximately 1509 hours inmate Gilbert Kervlis #932799 was found with a sheet tied around his neck which was attached to a anchored lavatory sink in the cell. Deputy S. Andrews #1259 then removed the sheet from around the neck of inmate Kervlis and layed the inmate on the floor and began chest compressions until relieved by another officer. Medical staff arrived and took over chest compressions. San Antonio Fire Department was contacted and arrived after several minutes. SAFD took over care, inmate Kervlis was then transported by ambulance to Downtown Baptist hospital. On 10-01-20 at approximately 1600 hours, Dr. Steven Hibburn pronounced inmate Kervlis deceased.”

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office decided not to provide any information in the following fields in the report: Death Code; Manner of Death Description; Custody Code; Code of Charges; Intoxicated; and Medical Treatment Description. The custodial death report also provides no information regard any observations of Mr. Kervlis, whether he had expressed any suicidal intent, whether he had engaged in self-harm, or anything regarding his intake into the facility.

The United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial detainees in Texas county jails to receive reasonable mental health care and to be protected from themselves when there is a serious risk of self-harm. If a Texas county has policies, practices, and/or customs which lead to such a death, then certain surviving family members may have a cause of action pursuant to federal law which may be filed in a federal court.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, in San Antonio, filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Robert Cantu. Mr. Cantu was only 43 years old at the time of his death. We provide information in this post obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

            The summary portion of the report reads in it’s entirety:

“On 09/21/2020 at approximately 1014 hours, Officer D. Garcia #4117 arrived to unit AE to take Inmate Cantu to medical. Inmate Cantu was unresponsive to Unit Officer R. Flores’ attempt to contact him via the intercom. Officer Flores reported to the Inmate’s assigned cell (AE08) to wake him up and found him unresponsive. Officer Flores initiated a Code 1 Blue as Officer Garcia began chest compressions. CODE 1 Blue in AE announced by Master Control at approximately 1015 hours. Medical responded and took over CPR. At approximately 1027 hours, San Antonio Fire Department EMS arrived. Inmate Cantu was pronounced dead at approximately 1039 hours by Medic Daniel King #1400.”

The report obviously provides little information regarding medical issues which Mr. Cantu had, or how or when he had been observed, if at all, prior to needing medical attention. Texas jail inmates have the right to receive reasonable medical care and mental health care, such rights arising under the United States Constitution. If a prisoner dies as a result of not receiving appropriate medical care, then jailers who were deliberately indifferent, or counties who have a policy, practice, and/or custom which lead to the death, may be liable to certain surviving family members.