Tarrant County Sheriff touts DOJ jail review
FORT WORTH – Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn on Thursday touted a United States Department of Justice review of the Tarrant County Jail.
A two-person DOJ panel mostly found that the jail met or exceeded standards, but did provide some recommendations at a time when Waybourn has been under fire for jail deaths.
"I invited them to come and look at any component of the Tarrant County Jail that they wished, including health care, mental health issues, and how we're running corrections," Waybourn said.
In an 8-minute, 28-second second video, the sheriff highlighted the positive findings from the 36-page report funded by the National Institute of Corrections. The DOJ was on-site in Fort Worth from May 13-15, following Waybourn's invitation in February. During the visit, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office was investigating the late April custodial death of Anthony Johnson Jr.
"They offered to even reschedule, but we said, absolutely not. Come on in and see what we're doing, including the current investigations that were going on," Waybourn said.
In the days following the DOJ visit, Waybourn announced the dismissal of Lt. Joel Garcia and Officer Rafael Moreno. However, he had to rehire them because their dismissal was not properly carried out concerning Johnson's death. Johnson's death was ruled a homicide by mechanical and chemical asphyxia. Investigators said Moreno kneeled on Johnson while he was restrained on the ground. Waybourn stated it was against policy, and Garcia should have stopped him. Both were indicted for murder and terminated again. Johnson's family is suing.
Waybourn has faced criticism for more than 60 deaths since becoming sheriff in 2017. Activists called for the DOJ to examine his leadership.
"Throughout this report, DOJ notes that many practices that we have here in the jail not only meet but exceed national standards," Waybourn said.
The report praised the mental health professionals and the JPS Health Network at the jail.
"We are immensely proud of the efforts of every individual across the JPS Health Network, including our dedicated team that provides essential healthcare services to patients at the Tarrant County Jail," the JPS Health Network said in a statement. "While their commitment to delivering comprehensive and personalized care to all individuals, even in the most challenging circumstances, is truly admirable, we always welcome feedback on how we can make our services better."
The DOJ made several recommendations for the county jail, typically applying federal facility standards:
- Lack of staffing: At the time of the review, the jail was down by 190 employees, working a mandatory 52 hours each week, creating issues like transporting offenders to offsite specialty medical visits. Waybourn said the gap is now around 180. The TCSO has a job fair on October 19.
- Improving conditions: The DOJ recommended better conditions for suicidal inmates and those detoxing, as well as increased health assessments for offenders.
- Healing environment: The review included recommendations for murals and furnishings to create a more healing environment.
However, there were no suggestions for addressing custodial deaths, which has led to calls for Waybourn's resignation and an outside investigation.