COUNTY INMATE NEAR DEATH AS RESULT OF SUICIDE ATTEMPT

 Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Not even three months into the Eric Garza Cameron County Sheriff Department administration, there has already been a near-death event at one of the three jails under his control.

On Thursday March 18,  an inmate by the  name of Jorge Ramos tried to hang himself at the old county jail downtown, one of the facilities in control of the sheriff's department. The inmate was found unconscious and rushed to an Intensive Care Unit at a Brownsville's hospital.

Sources said Ramos had not only showed danger signs but also told jailers that he intended to kill himself. They said nothing was done because the mental health officer had been pressured to resign weeks ago because of what he thought was retaliation from the current administration. 

Now, without a health officer to properly evaluate and screen the inmates and a resulting lack of manpower partly because the administration just gave up jailers slots to make room for the sheriff's campaign supporters, jailers face the risk of operating understaffed and encounter situations like this inmate who wasn't properly overseen.

The county jails have always proven to be a thorn on the side most past department administrations, but it is rare that it happens so soon into a new administration.

According to Garza and other sources, the inmate is intubated and remains in critical condition.