Tarrant commissioner wants sheriff to explain how jail operates. He says there’s no point
A Tarrant County commissioner requested a briefing from the Sheriff’s Office on standard operating procedures in the jail.
Nobody from the Sheriff’s Office showed up to deliver it.
Instead Democrat Alisa Simmons, who requested the briefing be placed on Tuesday’s agenda, grilled an empty lectern, asking questions she had written for Republican Sheriff Bill Waybourn.
In July, KERA, citing operating procedures it had obtained, reported the jail had not updated “restraint policies” for over 15 years.
Simmons referenced the article and added that even though she has requested the same documents, she hasn’t received them. She said it seemed like the Sheriff’s Office’s policy was to not release anything.
Fellow Democrat Commissioner Roy Brooks also voiced frustration with the Sheriff’s Office’s decision to not show up.
“We deserve, as a body, the right to be briefed on what they are,” Brooks said.
County Administrator Chandler Meritt — who often speaks on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office when no representatives show up — read an email into the record he received from the Sheriff’s Office 35 minutes before the start of the meeting.
“Our office is going to respectfully decline the public briefing regarding the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Standard Operating Procedures,” the email reads. “The TCSO is heavily mandated by rules and regulations, not only by internal policies, but also the State of Texas. At this time, the Sheriff’s Office is following guidelines of SOPs, The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, The Texas Commission on Jail Standards, The Texas Government Code, The Texas Occupation Code, The Code of Criminal Procedure and various Tarrant County policies. A public discussion of our policies and processes would not be productive or practical.”
The Sheriff’s Office responded to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
“In order for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office to brief on all 250+ Standard Operating Procedures, it would take approximately 4 ½ hours with multiple experts testifying. This is not a practical idea and Commissioner Simmons knows that. This is political grandstanding by her,” Waybourn said in a statement
The statement also said that operating procedures have been updated in recent years.
“We have updated many policies since I took office in 2017 and we are on our way to TCSO being the first Major County Sheriff’s Office to be accredited by the Texas Police Chiefs Association Accreditation program,” Waybourn said.
Republican County Commissioner Manny Ramirez said he too was disappointed with the sheriff’s decision not to publicize the office’s policies and procedures.
“I would say that I agree with Commissioner Simmons that industrywide, in law enforcement, general orders, certain SOPs, not necessarily even specific, but general orders are publicly available. A lot of them are published on websites,” Ramirez said.
Before being elected a county commissioner, Ramirez served with the Fort Worth Police Department and headed the police union.
“I do think in this instance, radical transparency is probably the best policy,” Ramirez said. “So I would love to see the general orders published.”
Ramirez has called for more transparency from the Sheriff’s Office multiple times since the April death of a man incarcerated in the jail.
Waybourn and representatives from the Sheriff’s Office have regularly declined to show up to commissioners court meetings since Anthony Johnson Jr’s death. They appeared for two briefings at the May 21 Commissioners Court meeting.
Johnson’s sister Janell Johnson regularly speaks at Commissioners Court meetings. On Tuesday, she again asked for the public release of the full video showing her brother’s death and aftermath.
The portion released by the Sheriff’s Office stops when Johnson appears to be non-responsive.
“This is why the sheriff won’t release that tape. That tape will show you the 15 years of policy,” Johnson said.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has ruled that Tarrant County may withhold the full video because of the ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers.
This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 4:55 PM.
