Tarrant County sheriff fires officer indicted in jailhouse killing amid calls for resignation
FORT WORTH – Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn fired detention officer Rafael Moreno on Tuesday following Moreno's indictment in connection with the murder of a man who died while in custody – Anthony Johnson Jr.
Meanwhile, Lt. Joel Garcia – who also was indicted for murder – is fighting to retain his job through a civil service appeal.
The two were indicted on Friday. Waybourn had fired Moreno and Garcia in mid-May but later reinstated them because of termination process problems.
According to the indictments, Johnson's death was caused when Moreno placed his knee in the inmate's back. Waybourn said the tactic is only permitted when an offender is not in restraints, but he said Johnson was bound.
Johnson's family said the Marine veteran was having a mental episode after employees found a shank and razor during a routine shakedown of his cell. In the video, Moreno kneels on Johnson's back for nearly ninety seconds.
"Can't breathe," Johnson said.
Moreno did not get up. Waybourn said Garcia, who was recording the incident on a cell phone, should have stopped the incident as a supervisor.
Johnson's family attorney Daryl Washington held a news conference Tuesday after the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting to address the murder indictments. The family continues to attend monthly meetings to express their dismay with Waybourn's leadership and the commissioners' enabling. Some have called for the sheriff's resignation.
Waybourn is elected but gets his funding from county leadership. But the Johnsons are not the only ones asking questions about what happened inside the jail.
The county medical examiner said Johnson's death was a homicide caused by chemical and mechanical asphyxia. While Waybourn's video release of the April incident shows the confrontation, the family said they've viewed additional footage.
"We need to see the full flow of events," Julie Griffin said. "We've been presented with carefully chosen clips from at least two video streams."
Griffin, known to speak out during the public comment section of the meetings, said the video ends without showing the commissioners or taxpayers what truly happened to Johnson.
"But we also see in the composite clip, the casual and careless attitude of inept handling of the crisis by 7-10 guards at the homicide," she said.
The Johnsons and their attorney expect to file a lawsuit in the coming days. They want to see more employees face criminal charges and be terminated.
Officials with the sheriff's office say no other employees are facing disciplinary actions as a result of the deadly confrontation.
Waybourn says he will only give out images he released publicly in May.
In a statement, his office says, "It is against TCSO standards to release any images (still or video) of unresponsive or deceased individuals."
Sixty-seven inmates have died at the jail since Waybourn took office. Many of them had medical issues when they got to jail, according to TCSO.
"What's the cut-off? 80? 100?" Jimmy Blackwell asked. "When will this die-and-pay system end?"
Blackwell is a Marine veteran, too, vowing his support to Johnson.
Waybourn's office said, "No comment" regarding calls for him to step down. The sheriff has said the jail continues to meet the state standard.
