Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn says two jailers have been fired following an internal investigation into the in-custody death of 31-year-old Anthony Johnson. The Texas DPS, meanwhile, is continuing its criminal investigation into the incident.
Johnson died on April 21 following a confrontation with detention officers who the sheriff said Thursday were doing a required and routine shakedown of jail cells to find contraband.
The sheriff released surveillance video from within the jail showing the interaction between detention officers and Johnson. Describing the video, Waybourn said Johnson struggled with detention officers for several minutes in what he described as a very long, dangerous fight near a second-floor railing.
Waybourn said when deputies arrived to search Johnson's cell he "kind of lunges" at an officer and that a fight began where jailers struggled to gain control for several minutes. Waybourn said officers used pepper spray before Johnson was taken to the ground and restrained and that a jailer put his knee into Johnson's back to hold him until they could put on leg restraints.
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About 90 seconds later, when the jailer stood up, Waybourn said Johnson was unresponsive and was moved downstairs to a medical area where attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
The sheriff said two jailers were fired, one for using a technique not approved by the sheriff's department and another for allowing the technique to be used and for failing to respond to the urgency of the situation.
"The two team members that were terminated was one Officer Rafael Moreno and he was using a technique that number one he was not trained to do and number two that we do not tolerate nor do we want done," Waybourn said. "The second one was Lt. Joe Garcia. Lt. Garcia was terminated on the basis that not only was he there, he was in charge and he was allowing this to occur. He also did not respond to the urgency of the situation. He was not urgent in carrying out his duties and that had a detrimental effect."
The sheriff said detention officers are allowed to put their knee into the back of a person until restraints are in place, but that they are then expected to immediately put the restrained person into a recovery position. Waybourn said once they realized Johnson was unresponsive he should have been put into recovery and the medical team that was downstairs should have been immediately brought upstairs to him rather than waiting to move him downstairs to them.
"What you do after that is immediately, put them in the recovery position. Immediately. That didn’t happen. That was on Lt. Garcia. He should have done that. They never should have kept him supine. They should have got him up and got his legs forward and control it," Waybourn said.
Waybourn said Johnson's family was shown the video earlier in the day before it was publicly released Thursday afternoon.
"It’s devastating. He was treated worse than an animal and there are a lot of people who are going to be held accountable for this. Starting with the sheriff on down to the jailers, the multiple jailers, six to eight jailers down to the medical staff," said Johnson's mother, Jacqualyne Johnson. "So that’s where we are right now. I’m very numb."
Johnson's two sisters spoke to NBC 5 as well.
“It was the most evil thing that I think I’ve seen in my life,” said Janell Johnson.
Waybourn said the medical examiner has not yet ruled on Johnson's cause of death and a toxicology report has not been completed.
Waybourn said Johnson was alone in his cell and that detention officers sweeping for contraband found a homemade shank and a razor in Johnson's cell.
The sheriff said before Johnson was arrested, his family tried to put him in a private mental health facility but he was turned away. Waybourn said this incident highlighted a need for more resources to help mental health patients – other than detention facilities.
Johnson’s family and Sheriff Waybourn confirmed Johnson, a retired marine, suffered from diagnosed mental health issues. However, Waybourn said he does know whether that was taken into consideration at the time of the altercation.
"We grieve for that family. And we grieve for law enforcement," Waybourn said.
Since 2017, 63 inmates at the county jail have died with the most recent death being Johnson's on April 21.
TEXAS RANGERS CONDUCTING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
The Texas Rangers, a part of the Texas Department of Public Safety, are independently investigating Johnson's death. On Thursday, Texas DPS Regional Director Jeremy Sherrod said the Texas Rangers' investigation is ongoing and asked for continued patience.
“There are still a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle that we have to gather and some of those are from independent sources. So we ask for your patience," Sherrod said.
Sherrod said once their investigation is completed it would be referred to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office and they would provide another update at that time.
JAILER'S TERMINATION WILL BE APPEALED
The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas said they are representing one of the officers who was terminated and that they intend to appeal the firing.
"We feel that the sheriff’s actions are premature as the medical examiner’s report has not been released, and we don’t know the cause of death. The sheriff’s actions appear to be a response to the heightened public interest in this case," said CLEAT, in a statement.
