Case: 18-40044 Document: 00514932961 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/26/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED April 26, 2019 No. 18-40044 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk JOSE LUIS GARZA, individually and as Representatives of The Estate of Jose Luis Garza, Jr., Deceased; VERONICA GARZA, individually and as Representatives of The Estate of Jose Luis Garza, Jr., Deceased; CYNTHIA LOPEZ, As Next Friend of Jose Ruben Garza, Minor Son, Plaintiffs - Appellants v. CITY OF DONNA, Defendant - Appellee Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Before JOLLY, DENNIS, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges. STEPHEN A. HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge: On February 19, 2016, in a detention facility operated by the Donna Police Department in Donna, Texas, Jose Luis Garza died by suicide. His estate and survivors brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against a lone defendant, the City of Donna, alleging violations of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause in the time leading up to, and immediately following, Garza’s suicide. The district court granted summary judgment to the City, and we affirm. Case: 18-40044 Document: 00514932961 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/26/2019 No. 18-40044 I In the early morning of February 19, 2016, officers of the Donna Police Department (“DPD”) responded to a 911 call by Veronica Garza. Her call concerned her son, Jose Luis Garza, who was heavily intoxicated and arguing with his brother at the family’s home. Officer Mario Silva was the first to respond at around 5:40 AM, with two other DPD officers soon joining. Veronica told officers that “I feared for his life” and “I’m afraid of him hurting himself.” Officer Silva arrested Jose Luis Garza for “assault by threat” and transported him to DPD’s facility. Though called a “jail,” the district court clarified that it is “a short-term holding facility where––unlike a county jail or state prison–– detainees do not stay long.” Officer Silva booked Garza into the jail and placed him in a cell just after 6 AM. Officer Silva took no particular mental-health precautions when he brought Garza to the jail. Garza was placed in a cell that contained a camera, and some time after 8 AM, he obscured the camera’s lens. A DPD employee, Minerva Perez, was tasked with monitoring the jail’s camera feeds under the jail’s written policy. Her shift had begun at 6 AM, and during the morning, she answered 911 calls, one of her other duties. She did not notice that Garza had blocked the camera in his cell. She would later assert that, once jailers arrived to start their shifts, it was their responsibility to monitor the jail’s inmates. Those jailers were Esteban Garza––no relation to the decedent––and Nathan Coronado, who started their shifts at 8 AM. The jailers heard Garza banging on his cell door and making other noise to get their attention. It is disputed whether Garza’s noisemaking prompted the jailers to check on him. The jail’s written policy required ...
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