Resident raises concern about 2024 police restraint; city officials say officers received follow-up training

A resident told the Aransas Pass City Council that officers failed to follow department policy when they restrained a suicidal person in February 2024, alleging improper use of a leg restraint device and inadequate training for the officers involved.

In public comment, the speaker summarized his concerns about the incident, saying only two officers restrained the person, that a restraining device was used contrary to manufacturer instructions and that the person was left exposed for about an hour. The commenter alleged the department's internal review found no wrongdoing and said that contributed to a perception that leadership was not holding itself accountable.

City response

Following the public comment, a city official identified in the transcript as Darren (role not specified) requested time to respond and spoke with the city attorney before addressing the council. Darren reported that both officers were current on CPR training and that, after the incident (dated in the record as April 1, 2024), all officers involved have since received training on the restraint device. He said one supervisor had training in October 2022 and again in September 2024; a second officer had been trained in September 2024 but staff had not yet confirmed earlier training dates for that officer. Darren said there may have been a training gap for one officer at the time of the incident but that department records show subsequent training was completed.

Why it matters: The comment raised public-safety and accountability questions about how the police department treats persons in crisis and whether staff training and internal reviews were adequate.

Quoted from the meeting

"No officers followed a PD suicide policy when dealing with a suicidal inmate," the commenter said during public comments, summarizing his allegations about the February 2024 incident.

Darren responded: "All officers have been trained for sure since then on both those devices. We do that every two years." (Darren, city official)

What the record shows

The speaker who raised the concern said the incident occurred in February 2024 and alleged procedural and training failures. The city official answering the complaint said he had reviewed training records and identified at least one potential deficiency that staff had since corrected. He did not provide evidence of disciplinary action; instead he described training updates and ongoing record checks. The transcript does not show a formal council action on the allegation.

Ending: The council heard public concern about a 2024 restraint incident and a staff reply that described remedial training; no formal disciplinary action or policy change was recorded in the meeting transcript.