A family is demanding accountability and answers after their loved one died while being held at Tarrant County jail. It happened about two weeks ago. NBC 5’s Tahera Rahman reports the family made an emotional plea to Tarrant County commissioners today.
“So, Tarrant County, this is how you do things?" said Janell Johnson at Tuesday's commissioners court meeting.
She is the older sister of Anthony Johnson, the 31-year-old who died in county jail custody on Sunday, April 21st.
The family said they wanted to know what happened to their loved one.
They want to see video of the incident, they want a federal investigation, and they want accountability and change.
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The sheriff's office said detention officers were conducting routine cell checks for contraband when they approached Johnson's cell and he wouldn't allow them to search the area.
The office said Johnson began to fight officers, who then used pepper spray to bring him under control. They said JPS medical staff was on the scene, as is standard procedure, to check the inmate after the incident. The office said during that examination, Johnson became unresponsive.
They said staff began CPR and then took Johnson to JPS Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after 10 a.m.
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Tuesday's commissioners court agenda listed an item related to this, "Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Update Regarding Incidents in the County Jail."
However, no one from the office was present, and Chandler Merritt, Tarrant County Administrator, read press releases and data into the record that the office had previously released.
NBC 5 asked why no one from the sheriff's office was present to give the briefing.
In a statement, a spokesperson said the office does not comment on open investigations.
"It would be unprecedented to interview on this case and could interfere with integrity of the investigation. In order for the case to be completed properly and people to be held accountable, we will allow the outside agency, the Texas Rangers, to complete their investigation before our office makes additional comments."
Commissioner Alisa Simmons still asked her questions to the absent sheriff.
“Does the Tarrant County Jail have some form of a special response team on a 24/7 basis?” she said, wondering if there are detention officers who can coax noncompliant inmates.
Johnson's family and the sheriff said that Johnson tried to check into a mental health facility on Friday, just hours before he was arrested in Saginaw.
His mother, Jacqualyne, said he was turned away from the facility because he didn't present an immediate threat to himself or someone else's safety at the time.
The sheriff's office said Johnson was standing in an intersection brandishing a knife at a driver, then ran away from officers.
On Saturday, Johnson was taken to Tarrant County Jail, where he called his mother, Jacqualyne.
“I told him to take care, be safe in there," she recalled.
She said she was relieved when officers picked him up because she thought he and others would be safe in jail from the effects of his manic episodes.
The next morning, Jacqualyne said she was informed of her son's death, but was only told that he had died at the hospital.
She said they didn't find out Johnson died in jail until they heard it on the news.
The family said they have been searching for answers since then.
They said the sheriff met with them to tell them there may have been an altercation before Johnson's death, and that it was being investigated, but the family said they haven't received any communication from the Rangers.
They're calling on commissioners to enact change.
“How do you tell somebody who has been following everything from the rule book; from the Marine Corps who taught him how to defend himself, to contacting [My Health My Resources of Tarrant County], to finding a facility, all the way down to letting the arresting officers know that he was schizophrenic... How are you going to sit here and tell me every step of the way that my brother went through work, and he’s dead now?" Janell told commissioners.
The Johnsons want a federal investigation into the jail, something Simmons has also called for.
“It should never have gotten to this point. The feds need to come in and do some investigation, said Jacqualyne.
“We have got to change some of this, we have got to go a different direction,” Waybourn said. “Because you never know what would have changed had that happened.”
After that press conference, NBC 5 asked for a response to calls for a federal investigation, but Waybourn declined to answer.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for his office said they still would not be offering any comment on that.
The Johnsons want every step of the county's mental health system reviewed and fixed.
“We need to look back on the policies, procedures being used," Janell said.
According to data, Tarrant County jail has had 63 reported inmate deaths since 2017.
The Johnsons pointed the finger at commissioners for not taking enough action to prevent their brother's death, one of the most recent.
"How you guys treat your vets, how you treat people with mental illnesses here in Tarrant county, the lack thereof, is arrogant and irresponsible," said Chanell, Johnson's little sister.
"Take accountability for what happened, and let’s focus on change," Chanell added.
Something many neighbors also voiced support for during public comment.
“Why must this keep happening before our eyes, with no change in the status quo?” Commissioners Court, you must do more," said one neighbor.
The Johnsons said they are ready to organize and affect change through the ballot box.
"We have a lot of heavy hitters behind us, to vote get them out. Because that’s where the change is going to start," Jacqulyne told reporters.
“If I have to spend the next 15 years of my life to get your seat, and every last one of y’all’s seat, I will do that. I’m educated enough to do it," Janell told commissioners.
"Everybody’s going to feel my pain, I’m sharing it," she said.
The Johnsons said they've retained attorney Darryl Washington to help in their search for answers and to possibly pursue prosecution of those responsible in Anthony's death.
