Family of Tarrant County inmate demand change, accountability after his death in jail (2024)

FORT WORTH — Just a few days after county medical examiner officials ruled a man died by homicide while in Tarrant County custody, his family stood by the front entrance of the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center alongside their attorney and community activists to seek accountability and change.

In a Tuesday afternoon news conference, they called on the county district attorney to prosecute all jail officials involved in 31-year-old Anthony Ray Johnson Jr.’s death. Some called for the resignation of the county sheriff, who oversees the jail, and said they hoped that Johnson’s death does not go in vain.

Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran, died April 21 in custody after the Tarrant County sheriff’s office said he refused to leave his cell during a contraband check and fought with jailers, who used pepper spray to detain him. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled last week his death was a homicide by chemical and mechanical suffocation. Johnson is one of at least 64 people who have died in the Tarrant County jail since 2017, placing increased scrutiny on operations at the facility.

Robbie Hoy, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday that more than three-fourths of those deaths were related to medical conditions or COVID-19. One cause was marked unknown, two were deemed homicides and another four were still pending, according to a fact sheet that Hoy provided via email.

Daryl Washington, the family’s attorney, along with Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons and U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, have called for the U.S. Justice Department to conduct a review into the jail. Following Johnson’s death, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn terminated a jailer, Rafael Moreno, and his supervisor, Lt. Joel Garcia, in May, though both were later reinstated and then suspended.

The Texas Rangers and the sheriff’s office internal affairs unit are investigating Johnson’s death. Johnson, who was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been in jail for two days prior to his death and was arrested in Saginaw after he was accused of wielding a knife at a motorist while standing in a roadway.

“I say this to the rest of those out there in Tarrant County who may have loved ones with mental conditions, or just simply have issues and should happen to get arrested and then get taken into custody of Sheriff Waybourn’s administration — I can say for sure now as I stand here, it’s a possibility that a loved one may not come home,” said Johnson’s father, Anthony Johnson Sr.

One by one, Johnson’s family members spoke outside the criminal justice center. Janell Johnson, his sister, called out Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare and Waybourn and said, “Tarrant County does not care about mentally disabled people, especially if you’re a veteran and especially if you’re a Black person.” Deputies escorted Janell Johnson from a county commissioners’ court meeting last week after O’Hare ordered her removal.

Johnson Sr. asked people to imagine if their loved one was in his son’s place and then see if there is any accountability. Others stood behind them with their fists raised.

Johnson’s nephew, 10-year-old Corbin, also spoke. With Washington holding his shoulders, he said his uncle “shouldn’t have been killed at all.”

A roughly 6-minute video released to the public last month showed multiple jailers surrounding Johnson to handcuff him as he yelled that he couldn’t breathe. One jailer, later identified as Moreno, can be seen kneeling on Johnson for roughly 90 seconds.

Washington said there are five other individuals besides Moreno and Garcia who “stood by and did absolutely nothing.” He said people held within the facility are in danger.

“The majority of the people inside the facility have not had their day in trial,” Washington said. “They have the responsibility to make sure these people are taken care of.”

Washington and other family members have said an extended video not released to the public shows further lack of attention to Johnson’s care. Washington also said the long video, which he said is roughly 14 minutes, shows a “continued brutalization” of Johnson leading up to his death. Johnson’s mother and two sisters have seen the video during a private meeting at the district attorney’s office, Washington said.

“You’re going to see medical professionals who didn’t care, they just stood around there and did not even know Anthony was taking his last breath,” Washington said.

Washington said Saturday the medical personnel should be held responsible as well for not properly treating Johnson.

Simmons in a statement last week called for the county sheriff to release all remaining video footage of Johnson’s death to “commissioners’ court members, followed by a release to the public.” She has said that every person who had a role in Johnson’s death should be held accountable and noted that Waybourn is “ultimately responsible for this tragedy.”

Washington placed great emphasis on the use of pepper spray in the role of Johnson’s death and stated that a jail employee sprayed it in Anthony’s mouth. The sheriff’s office has said in a statement that the finding of chemical asphyxiation can be attributed to the use of pepper spray as well as the presence of methamphetamine as a contributing factor.

Washington said on Saturday the sheriff’s office statement regarding the presence of methamphetamine was made “without support.”

Hoy attributed the finding of meth in Johnson’s system to the medical examiner and said via email that the pepper spray was not sprayed in Johnson’s mouth intentionally.

“The Sheriff has been very clear that those responsible for Mr. Johnson’s death will be held accountable,” Hoy wrote.

‘It’s about change’

No one has yet been charged in Johnson’s death. Randall Moore, an attorney representing Garcia, has said his client, if charged, would not receive a fair trial due to “inflammatory comments” made in the media. Moore has said the facts will show Garcia was not at fault for Johnson’s death.

Moore on Saturday released a timeline of events that he said showed Garcia’s “limited involvement” in the incident. Moore said Tuesday he did so in response to Washington’s comments on Johnson’s death being murder.

“I am not going to stand by and let my client be charged, convicted and executed in the media,” Moore said.

Moreno’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment by phone Tuesday.

Waybourn had said Garcia, who recorded the encounter, was fired because he did not properly respond to the “urgency of the situation” and made missteps in seeking medical attention for Johnson. Moreno was fired, Waybourn said, because he should not have used his knee to pin Johnson once he was already handcuffed.

Moore has said Waybourn’s description that Garcia was slow to seek medical attention was incorrect. His client acted quickly and in accordance with sheriff’s office policy once he saw something was wrong.

It is unclear whether the two suspended jail staff, who were among a dozen total seen in the footage, will face charges. Washington said he is hopeful there will be indictments by the end of the month.

“This is not just about Anthony, because we can’t bring Anthony back,” Washington said. “It’s about change. This family wants, more than anything else, to see that there’s going to be change in the Tarrant County jail.”

‘Disturbing sequence of deaths’

On Monday, Veasey announced in a news release that he sent a letter last month to Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, to launch an investigation into the deaths of inmates and jail incidents at the Tarrant County jail. The release noted that Veasey has followed up with the Justice Department once the sheriff’s office reported in late May that another inmate died in custody.

In his letter, Veasey cites at least three deaths this year that “appear to be a part of a pattern of negligence and mismanagement from the leadership at the Tarrant County Jail.”

Following these reports, Veasey noted that only an immediate investigation “into the disturbing sequence of deaths at the facility can reinstate accountability.”

Washington has said the family does not want the number of deaths at the facility to continue to rise but has no doubt it will unless something is done differently.

“Under [Waybourn’s] administration, we currently have 60-plus deaths,” Washington said. “What is the standard?”

Standing before reporters, Johnson’s father said that once the extended video is released, he wants the public to remember one word: “inhumane.”