played out daily among the 3,500 men and women incarcerated here. life in the county, baby. the majority of them have only been charged with crimes and here awaiting trial on the resolution of their cases. but for some, waiting can be unbearable. the jail s medical staff responds to a code one alert. a medical emergency. an inmate has just attempted suicide by hanging. he is 28-year-old arnulfo guerra. guerra is alive but unconscious. medics work to assess the extent of his injuries. the officer discovered guerra. he was called in after another officer reported that guerra had covered the lights in his cell making it difficult to see inside. the duty officer called us. we responded to do a check. and noticed he was hanging.
15 minutes. we check on him. just keep a pretty watchful eye on him. that day what were you feeling, what were you going through? [ speaking spanish ] he says that the reason why he did it is bah he was lonely. he was in lockdown. he sees that everybody gets visits. he doesn t. he sees that everybody gets letters. he doesn t. he doesn t have any body to talk with. he just felt lonely. and that s why he did what he did. with four prior stays at bear county, guerra is well then to staff here. he is known for resisting arrest he says he is part of a
down. i need you to take it down for me. thank you. no problem. okay. i appreciate it. okay. finally, officers give guerra what he wants. his art is returned to him. you got to behave. that s all he really wanted back, the crosses. he spent his time and energy to create. while guerra s art work and demand to get back it are rule violations. officers are permitted to use discretion to prevent minor violations from blowing up into major ones. they conclude if guerra s weavings and paper cross he s hung above his door will keep him calm it is worth it. in other units it is contraband. as disruptive as he is, we allow him to do this. he uses the crosses as a tool to keep his mind active. we don t have a problem with that. that s his activity. if he mixes a little faith into it, all the better.
guerra s mood soon lightens when he sees an object taken from his cell. the art work he created from the torn bed sheets. but the calm does not last long. the inmate worker suddenly takes his creation away with the trash. and guerra becomes irate. guerra hangs a sheet to block his window, which is against the rules. but is of particular concern with an inmate who attempted suicide. he was pissed off because they took his trash out. he could be doing numerous things. there is no telling what he was doing. he is kind of pissed off right now because of all the stuff we threw out of his cell. why are you acting like that? [ speaking spanish ] i need you to take the sheet
he tad taken the bed sheet, tore into a strip, and around his neck a couple of times. i cut him down and he was still breathing. san antonio fire department paramedics arrive, guerra has begun to regain consciousness. he was on his knees hanging forward? no, just hanging. guerra, talk to me! one, two, three! [ indiscernible ] although his vital signs are stabilizing guerra will still be taken to a nearby hospital for further treatment. quick action by correctional staff and medics most likely saved his life. but in the past the jail had been plagued by the specter of inmate suicides.