Ranger inquiry finds no one else at fault in a Tarrant County Jail inmate’s suicide
An inmate found dead inside his Tarrant County Jail cell used bedding to fashion a noose and draped that over a light fixture over his bed in order to hang himself, according to an investigation by the Texas Rangers.
Dean Ray Stewart, 50, of Haltom City, was pronounced dead on April 26, and the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office listed his cause of death as hanging and the manner of death as suicide. He was arrested on April 5, a suspect in a road rage shooting where the victim was uninjured, police records say.
Witness statements and surveillance footage confirmed that Stewart was alone in the cell when he was found dead, the Texas Ranger report said.
“Stewart was not on ‘suicide watch’ but was in a MHMR pod which required more frequent face-to-face observations,” the report said. “There was no evidence or suspicions to believe that anyone else had caused Stewart’s death.”
Jailer checks in the mental health pod are required at 15- or 30-minute intervals, according to state jail standards, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lt. Jennifer Gabbert wrote in an earlier email.
“However, we try to exceed this by doing them more frequently,” Gabbert’s email said.
Stewart’s death triggered an investigation by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The investigation revealed a lapse in face-to-face checks, which resulted in the jail losing state certification for six days in May.
To regain its certification, the Sheriff’s Office supplied the state with a plan of action detailing how they would ensure that inmate checks weren’t missed in the future.
In Stewart’s case, he was left alone for nearly an hour when jailers were 21 minutes late to a check. Another time, the check was made 17 minutes late, and a third check was done 12 minutes late.
A state investigation into an inmate who gave birth inside of her jail cell in May also was completed and no wrongdoing was found.
The inmate, who has been jailed since January, gave birth May 17. Corrections officers found the baby soon after the birth, and both mother and child were taken to local hospitals. The mother was later taken back to the jail.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department has not completed its internal investigation into Stewart’s suicide, according to a department official.
The Texas Ranger report said that Stewart was found unresponsive and removed from his cell so that life-saving measures that were ultimately unsuccessful could be administered.
Investigators marked the file closed in late May and anticipated no further action, the report said. State investigations into Dean’s suicide and the in-custody birth incident at the Tarrant County Jail also have been completed, said Brandon Wood, Texas Commission on Jail Standards executive director.
Wood said arresting officers are questioned about their assessment of the mental health and suicide risks posed by the suspects they bring to county jails. A statewide check is also conducted during intake so jail staff can determine if inmates have received mental health treatment in the past, Wood said.
Family members have asserted that Stewart’s mental health needs were not properly assessed while he was an inmate at the Tarrant County Jail.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department has since ordered a new electronic timekeeping system that will help track and record observation checks and trained staff on its use, required that past logs be audited to verify that checks were being conducted appropriately and reminded supervisors to staff high-risk housing units with experienced and qualified jailers.
The department also reminded all captains in housing units to fill out an “end of shift summary,” which requires the on-duty lieutenant to write an email to their superior detailing what happened during their shift.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 5:44 PM.
