TEXARKANA, Texas - For the second time this year, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has placed Bowie County on its list of noncompliant jails.
The July 6 death of Michael Rodden in the jail located on the fourth floor of the Bi-State Justice Building jail in downtown Texarkana triggered a special inspection. Rodden, 48, allegedly hung himself in his cell with two socks fashioned together and tied to a bolt in the window of his one-man cell, according to a death report submitted to the Texas Attorney General by Bowie County Sheriff's Office.
LaSalle Corrections, a private, for-profit company, manages the jail for Bowie County and has since 2013.
A Texas Commission on Jail Standards report dated Aug. 7 cites a failure by jail personnel to conduct required cell checks in the 12 to 24 hours prior to Rodden being found dead, Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Brandon Wood said. Face-to-face observations of inmates must be completed at least once every hour. Checks must be performed every 30 minutes in areas where inmates "known to be assaultive, potentially suicidal, mentally ill or who have exhibited bizarre behavior" are housed.
According to the Aug. 7 report, checks were not performed for more than six hours in the time before jail staff noticed Rodden had perished.
"After reviewing video evidence in conjunction with self-reporting by facility administration, it was determined that between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 8:58 a.m., only three observation rounds were conducted: 12:33 a.m., 6:59 a.m. and 7:20 a.m.," the report states.
BCSO's death report appears to be in conflict with the findings of the Aug. 7 inspection.
"He (Rodden) was last observed by jail staff at approximately 8:11 a.m. and later found by inmates at approximately 8:59 a.m.," the report states.
BCSO Chief Deputy Jeff Neal noted that the failures to conduct checks were "self-reported."
According to BCSO's death report, Rodden was the subject of a recent "Officer Safety" message that had been disseminated to area law enforcement via email.
Rodden reportedly intimated to Texarkana, Texas, Police Department officers who arrested him the evening of July 3 that he "would commit suicide by cop in future interactions with law enforcement," according to the death report. According to BCSO's report, that information was not shared with jail personnel.
The jail was deemed noncompliant for the first time this year in April. The report cited Bowie County for failing to conduct required cell checks during a special inspection triggered by the in-custody death March 11 of Franklin Greathouse.
According to the April report, cell checks were documented but video surveillance contradicted the paperwork.
"After reviewing video evidence in conjunction with self-reporting by facility administration, it was determined that eight, 60-minute, face-to-face observations, prior to the inmate being discovered, did not occur, even though the rounds were documented at least every 60 minutes on the observation logs," the April inspection report states.
According to a summary prepared by BCSO, Greathouse was a homeless, "repeat inmate" with a history of alcohol abuse. Greathouse was booked into the jail about 9:45 p.m. March 10.
"Greathouse complained of a seizure on March 11 and was seen by LaSalle Corrections Medical," the BCSO death report states. "Greathouse was responsive and able to walk to his own cell within F-pod; dispelling his claim of seizure."
The BCSO death report does not specify who in LaSalle Corrections medical determined that Greathouse's ability to walk meant that his claim of a seizure should be discounted. Another inmate discovered Greathouse about 7 p.m. March 11 lying unresponsive on the floor of his cell.
Doctors can make medical diagnoses, registered nurses can make nursing diagnoses, licensed vocational nurses and licensed practical nurses cannot diagnose or direct treatment, according to accepted nursing standards.
Bowie County's last regular annual inspection, conducted in early December 2018, found the jail was noncompliant with Texas jail standards. Noted in the December 2018 inspection report were expired licenses for some LaSalle employees and a failure to maintain a ratio of one correctional officer to every 48 inmates.
The jail was deemed compliant during a reinspection in February. Following Greathouse's death in March, the jail was deemed noncompliant in April and returned to compliant status in May. Following Rodden's death and a special inspection in July, the jail was again deemed noncompliant. As of Friday, Bowie County remains on the Texas Commission for Jail Standards list of noncompliant jails.
Texas House Bill 4468, which takes effect Sept. 1, mandates that the compliance status of a privately run county jail, such as the Bi-State jail, shall be reviewed at the next meeting of the board of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards if the jail is deemed noncompliant during a regular annual inspection or special inspection.
Neal said that a system to improve compliance is currently being installed throughout the jail at LaSalle's expense. The technology includes RFID chips on cell doors which can be read by a handheld scanner. Correctional officers performing cell checks must physically be at the cell door to scan an RFID chip and document the observation occurred, Neal said.
Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Brandon Wood said current law does not allow the commission to use an "umbrella approach" when determining if action should be taken by the state agency when a jail is found repeatedly noncompliant. Bowie County began the year in noncompliant status and was again deemed noncompliant in April and August.
"We did raise that issue with our assigned counselor at the Office of the Attorney General," Wood said.
Wood said noncompliant counties have 30 days to submit a corrective action plan and that once brought back into compliance, "the clock starts over," under current Texas law. Wood said existing law does not include a mechanism for shuttering a jail because of repeated failed inspections in a given year.
If a jail fails to attain compliance, Wood said the commission's board could impose limitations on the number of inmates a facility can house. Such a limitation could create real problems for a local criminal justice system but would impact the bottom line of a company like LaSalle, for which profits are tied to inmate count.