State to determine if death at Harris County Jail is considered an in-custody death

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The Sheriff's department says it's up to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to determine if a Tuesday morning death at the Harris County Jail will be considered in-custody. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the incident did not happen in the secured jail, and according to them, the person who died was technically no longer in custody.

The death happened early Tuesday morning. The Harris County Sheriff's Office says 32-year-old Alexis Jovany Cardenas was being escorted out of the jail by a detention officer just before 1 a.m. when he physically resisted. ABC13 was told an officer used a Taser on him, he ran back into a secure part of the jail where inmates are processed for release, and several guards finally gained control of him. Once under control, the Sheriff's Office said Cardenas was not responsive. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Sheriff's Office said it reported the death to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which will determine if this will be considered an in-custody death.

Krish Gundu with the Texas Jail Project said it should be.

"There are all these little holes and technicalities, and it always comes down to that, which again isn't helpful for family members to hear," Gundu said.

According to Texas State law, an in-custody death is "if a person dies while in the custody of a peace officer or as a result of a peace officer's use of force."

So far this year, the Sheriff's Office has recorded 10 in-custody deaths. Gundu said it's important to keep track of these deaths so the state can measure the impacts of pretrial detention and determine safety in the jail for inmates and employees. There are concerns that more people may soon be held in pretrial detention with recent law changes that restrict who is eligible for bond.

The Harris County jail has historically struggled with overcrowding and jail standard violations. On June 30 the Texas Commission on Jail Standards issued a notice with noted inmates being held in holding cells for too long, and failure to complete fire inspections.

"Remember, these standards are minimum standards, floor-level standards," Gundu said.

The Sheriff's Office said the work to address the issues mentioned in the Jail Commission's inspection report is either underway or already completed.

According to Municipal Court records, Cardenas was in jail on a failure to appear in court warrant for a 2014 crash in which he did not have a driver's license or insurance. The day before his death, the case was dismissed, and he was ordered to pay $30 in legal fees. The Sheriff's office would not make any additional comment but did say the Texas Rangers are investigating and an autopsy is being done to determine the cause of death.

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