When someone dies in a restraint chair or restraint device in a California jail

If someone you love died after being restrained in a California jail, we are deeply sorry. Families in a restraint chair death lawsuit or a positional asphyxia jail death case often get a short explanation from the county: a struggle, a medical emergency, drugs. But restraint is one of the most closely regulated things a jail does, and the rules exist because restrained people can stop breathing.

This guide explains the California rules for restraint chairs and similar devices, how positional asphyxia happens, California's 2023 ban on "excited delirium" as a cause of death, cases families have resolved, and the deadlines. It is general information, not legal advice. You can ask for a free, confidential review.

What are restraint chairs, WRAP devices and prone restraint?

• Restraint chair. A chair with straps that hold a person's arms, legs and body in place, used when staff say a person is a danger to themselves or others.
• WRAP and similar devices. A full-body restraint that holds the legs together and binds the body, often used for transport or with a spit mask.
• Prone restraint. Holding a person face-down, often with officers' weight on the back, during handcuffing, a cell extraction or before placement in a device.

Each can interfere with breathing, especially for someone who is exhausted, overweight, in a mental health crisis or under the influence. California law defines positional asphyxia as positioning a person so that their airway is compressed and they cannot breathe adequately. Under Government Code § 7286.5, law enforcement agencies may not authorize techniques or transport methods that carry a substantial risk of positional asphyxia. The definition includes putting unreasonable pressure or body weight on a restrained person's neck, torso or back, and leaving a restrained person without reasonable monitoring for signs of asphyxia.

What California jail rules say about restraint devices

The state's jail standards, Title 15, § 1058, set strict conditions on restraint devices in county jails:

• Restraints may not be used for punishment or as a substitute for treatment.
• They are only for people who are destroying property or show intent to cause physical harm, and only after less restrictive options are found ineffective.
• Placement needs approval from the facility manager, watch commander or responsible health care staff.
• A medical opinion on the placement must be obtained within one hour, and until then staff must keep continuous direct visual observation.
• Staff must conduct direct visual observation at least twice every 30 minutes and document it.
• A medical assessment must be completed within four hours, and the need to keep the person restrained must be reviewed at least every hour.
• If the person cannot be safely released after eight hours, they must be taken to a medical facility.
• The placement must be video recorded unless an emergency prevents it, and the reason, the people involved, injuries and duration must be documented.

The jail must also follow the manufacturer's maximum time limits. When a family's case is reviewed, these rules become a checklist: was there approval, was a nurse called, were the required checks done, and does the video match the log?

Some jails have stopped using certain devices. The consent decree in Babu v. County of Alameda, covering Santa Rita Jail, requires a new use-of-force policy and an end to WRAP devices, according to the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse.

California's ban on "excited delirium"

For years, deaths after restraint were often blamed on "excited delirium." In October 2023, Governor Newsom signed AB 360, making California the first state to ban the term as a cause of death, as Physicians for Human Rights reported. Under the law:

• Excited delirium is not a valid diagnosis or cause of death in California.
• A coroner, medical examiner or physician may not list it on a death certificate or in a report as the cause of death.
• Peace officers may not use the term to describe a person in an incident report.
• Evidence that a person suffered "excited delirium" is not admissible in a civil case, though witnesses can still describe what they saw.

The California Department of Public Health issued guidance to death registration officials in December 2023. For families, this means the autopsy has to explain the death in medical terms, which makes an independent review of the autopsy, video and medical records even more important. Our guide to autopsy reports, records and video explains how to get them.

What families have recovered in California restraint cases

These are reported results in California jail cases brought by families. They were handled by other firms.

• Christopher Zumwalt, Smith Correctional Facility (Riverside County), 2020. His children's case settled for $7.5 million in 2024. Their attorney said that after a cell extraction, deputies tied him into a restraint chair and no one monitored him or called a nurse. He died two days later at a hospital. The sheriff called the settlement a business decision and attributed the death to drug-induced psychosis and the strain of the struggle.
• Dujuan Armstrong, Santa Rita Jail (Alameda County), 2018. He died after being placed in a WRAP device and spit mask; the autopsy cited asphyxia and said the restraint increased his risk, KTVU reported. His mother received $2.7 million.
• Jason Jesus Gomez, Orange County jail, 2008. Deputies restrained him with handcuffs and leg irons, put a spit mask on him and used a Taser in the jail's psychiatric unit. He stopped breathing and later died. His family's case, Lares v. County of Orange, settled for $2.1 million in 2011.

Every case is different. Past results, including those listed here, do not predict the outcome of any other case. Our Riverside County jail guide covers the Zumwalt case and that county's oversight in more detail.

Who can be held responsible?

• Deputies and supervisors who applied the restraint, put weight on the person, or failed to monitor. For people held before trial, force claims are judged by whether the force was objectively unreasonable under the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Jail nurses and medical staff who were required to assess the person and did not, or cleared a placement they should have stopped. Where the jail uses a private medical contractor, the company can be a defendant.
• The county, when the death came from a policy, custom or failure to train, such as routinely skipping the required checks or using devices without medical review.

The same law applies when the restraint happened during an arrest rather than in a jail. See our guide to restraint and asphyxia deaths during arrest, and our page on Taser injuries and deaths.

What to do in the first weeks

1. Request the coroner or medical examiner's report and ask whether a full autopsy will be done. Families may request one in writing under California law. Consider an independent autopsy.
2. Do not sign anything from the county or a jail medical company before getting advice.
3. Write down names, dates and everything officials tell you. Keep letters, voicemails and texts.
4. Ask a lawyer to send preservation letters right away for the restraint video, the observation logs, the medical opinion and assessment records, and the device records. Video of force by custodial officers that causes death generally must be released within 45 days, with limited delays.
5. Talk to a lawyer before the six-month mark.

The deadlines

State-law claims against a California county, including wrongful death, require a written government claim within six months of the death (Government Code § 911.2). Federal civil-rights claims generally have two years in California. Claims against a private medical contractor have their own deadlines, but the county is usually a defendant too. See our guide to the six-month government claim deadline. The spouse and children, and in some situations parents or others who depended on the person, can bring a wrongful death claim, and the estate can bring a survival claim.

How LaCour handles restraint deaths

LaCour Trial Lawyers is a trial firm, and a partner leads every case involving police misconduct and wrongful death in custody, statewide. We work with independent pathologists and restraint experts, and we have Spanish-speaking lawyers and staff. There is no fee unless there is a recovery. If you or a family member was seriously hurt in a restraint chair or other device, or someone you love died, ask for a free, confidential review.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about California and federal law and about public records as of its date. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney–client relationship. Allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.