Tarrant County may upgrade law enforcement training facility
FORT WORTH — Tarrant County's current law enforcement training facility could get a major facelift. Commissioners are voting on funding for the project at their meeting Tuesday and say it won't cost taxpayers a dime.
The facility's building was once a juvenile mental health center and is now the hub for jailer and peace officer training. But after decades of deterioration, county leaders agree it's time for a makeover.
"This is actually about seven years in the running, and when I first came on board, that was something that I saw that was needed," said Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn.
Waybourn admits the facility has fallen into disrepair. He says at one time, there were no working women's restrooms or proper workspaces. "The place that we were at was small. We were putting people in closets," he told CBS News Texas. "They were doing confidential background investigations from the hallways."
Commissioners on Tuesday will vote on whether to allocate remaining ARPA pandemic money to fully fund renovations for a new facility, which would double space from around 20,000 square feet to 40,000, provide new equipment, new simulations, and more training staff.
"We'll be able to process them faster and we'll be able to absolutely demonstrate what our culture is," Waybourn added.
This upgrade comes after seven in-custody deaths at the jail this year: one suicide, one homicide, one pending, and four natural or medical deaths. The family of Anthony Johnson is currently suing TCSO for his death in the jail last April. Sheriff Waybourn believes the new facility will decrease the number of serious jail incidents because it will have more complete training to walk jailers through all potential scenarios.
"Everybody needs to remember that's the largest psychiatric hospital in the county with about 66% of the inmates having a mental health issue, so we have to be ready for anything," Waybourn told CBS News Texas. "This new facility, again, will give us that environment that will give us that opportunity to say, 'you got to expect the unexpected.'"
Commissioner Manny Ramirez plans to vote yes for the upgrades and says a new facility will bring in new recruits and boost morale.
"Sitting at about 4,100 prisoners, staffing is still very, very tight, but it's getting better," said Commissioner Ramirez. "So I do feel like having a world-class training facility is a huge matter of pride for our men and women in law enforcement. I know that they need to be proud of that uniform that they wear. I think this training facility will go a long way to making sure that the men and women who walk the halls of that facility, the men and women that stand up and swear an oath to Tarrant County, that they take pride in the patch that's on their shoulder. I think it all starts with that first step into your training academy."
County leaders say the estimated cost of this project would be around $45 million, all funded through ARPA money, and could be completed as early as April 2025.
