Tarrant County hires new chief jailer amid ongoing lawsuits, criticism over deaths
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office has hired a new executive chief deputy to run the county jail.
Shannon Herklotz has filled the vacant position, the Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday, Jan. 13.
He takes over at a time when the Sheriff’s Office has been criticized for a spike in deaths of people in custody at the jail, including a case in which two former jailers face murder charges in the death of Marine veteran Anthony Johnson Jr., and lawsuits alleging mistreatment of inmates.
Johnson, 31, died in April after jailers pepper-sprayed him and one officer knelt on his back, according to partial video released by the Sheriff’s Office. His death was ruled a homicide caused by asphyxiation.
Herklotz will lead the team of detention professionals and collaborate with medical staff from John Peter Smith Hospital and mental health providers from My Health My Resources of Tarrant County, according to the news release.
Herklotz most recently worked as the chief deputy in the Detention Bureau at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and before that as chief of detentions at the Harris County Jail in Houston.
He also served as deputy director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards in Austin.
“Shannon brings more than three decades of detention experience to TCSO and we are lucky to have him,” Sheriff Bill Waybourn said in the release.
Herklotz began his career as a correctional officer in 1990 with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
He is a member of the Texas Jail Association’s Hall of Fame and was awarded the TJA’s President’s Award in 2019.
Herklotz is a graduate of Sam Houston State University’s National Jail Leadership Command Academy.
The Tarrant County Jail has passed inspections for over 30 years, according to a recent National Institute of Corrections report, the Sheriff’s Office said.
In May, executive chief deputy Charles Eckert announced his retirement. Eckert had been with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office for 32 years. Eckert told the Star-Telegram that his retirement was unrelated to recent deaths in the jail.