Protesters call for Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn's resignation after recent inmate deaths
FORT WORTH – Calls for change are getting louder after another inmate being held at the Tarrant County jail died this week.
Thursday, protesters marched through the rain from Fort Worth City Hall to the Tarrant County Jail to demand Sheriff Bill Waybourn's resignation. United My Justice, the group who organized the march, also wants immediate action to address systemic issues within the county's correctional facilities.
"This is getting out of hand," said Liz Badgley with United My Justice. "We have an urgent and grave problem on our hands. We have to do something."
Since Waybourn took office, more than 60 inmates have died while in Tarrant County custody.
"We need accountability, and that's the bottom line," said Anthony Johnson, Sr., the father of Anthony Johnson, Jr.
Johnson Jr., a 31-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran, died in the Tarrant County Jail in April. Video released by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office shows him being wrestled, pepper sprayed and held on the ground with a knee in his back until he lost consciousness.
A jail employee and a supervisor involved in the altercation were initially fired, then reinstated and placed on leave pending an investigation into Johnson's death by the Texas Rangers.
"We're not asking – we're demanding that everyone who stood by and watched Anthony die be immediately terminated," said Daryl Washington, the Johnson family's attorney. "And also, charged with his death."
Last week, Waybourn walked CBS News Texas anchor Doug Dunbar through the moments surrounding Johnson's controversial death.
"When unfortunate and tragic things happen like that, we put it under the microscope," Waybourn said. "My job is to hold those people accountable and we did that and we are doing that."
Executive Chief Deputy Charles Eckert, the man in charge of daily operations at the jail, announced his retirement Wednesday. The news came just days after the latest inmate death, but the department said it's unrelated.
In a statement, the sheriff's office said Eckert "retired very honorably after 32 years with the TCSO and that "Anyone who would speak negatively about Chief Eckert's service is clearly misinformed or being divisive."
Johnson's family sees it differently.
"Another woman just died, and now you're going to retire?," said Chanell Johnson, one of Anthony Johnson, Jr.'s sisters. "That's unacceptable. You're the biggest coward. You and Mr. Waybourn."
Johnson's family is also calling on Waybourn to release the entire 15 minute video of Johnson's final moments in that jail cell.
"After Anthony died, you had at least eight to nine jailers who didn't even know he was dead," Washington said. "Handcuffs on him. Put him in a wheelchair. They slapped him … When you see it, honestly, not one of you guys would watch that video and not cry. That's just how bad it is."
The sheriff's office says releasing the full video isn't possible because this is still an open investigation.