Lawyer for family of man who died in Tarrant County jail calls sheriff ‘out of touch’
A statement issued by Sheriff Bill Waybourn regarding the dismissal of Tarrant County from a lawsuit brought by the family of Anthony Johnson Jr. was “not only irresponsible, but inaccurate,” according to the family’s lawyer.
Johnson died in the Tarrant County jail on April 21, 2024, after an altercation with jailers, two of whom now face murder charges. Dallas-based civil rights attorney Daryl Washington represents Johnson’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit filed last July.
In a statement issued on Monday, Feb. 10, Waybourn called the family’s claims in the lawsuit “unfounded,” “false” and “misleading,” and thanked federal Judge Reed O’Connor for dropping the county from the case.
“Anyone can file a lawsuit and make unfounded claims against a person or organization,” Waybourn said. “Fortunately, our justice system requires evidence to support those allegations.”
The statement “shows just how out of touch Waybourn is with reality,” Washington said.
“It is clear that Sheriff Waybourn will say just about anything, even if he knows it not to be true, to deflect from the wrongful conduct taking place at the Tarrant County Jail,” Washington said in an emailed statement. “The allegations in the Plaintiffs’ lawsuit are supported by several witnesses and a fifteen-minute video that Sheriff Waybourn continues to hide behind.”
Asked for a response to Washington’s statement, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said, “We’ve issued our statement regarding the lawsuit and have nothing further to add.”
Washington reiterated calls by the Johnson family and some residents to release the full video of the altercation that resulted in Johnson’s death.
Johnson’s mother, Jacqualyne Johnson, who has seen the full video along with his father and two sisters, said in a press conference in May that watching the footage was “quite a nightmare.”
“What I saw, I will need counseling for the rest of my life,” she said. “I saw my son take his last breath.”
Waybourn “would have released the full video months ago” if he believed the family’s allegations were unfounded, Washington said in his statement.
“Waybourn refuses to release the entire video because he knows it will show just how horrible his jailers treated Anthony,” he said. “It would show that Anthony was placed in a wheelchair, not to assist him, but to continue the mistreatment.”
O’Connor dismissed the county from the lawsuit on grounds that the plaintiffs failed to show how conditions in the jail, such as “overcrowding, deprivation of phone or mail privileges, the use of disciplinary segregation, or excessive heat” played a role in Johnson’s death. That was caused by the actions of individual jailers, he said.
Washington said in his statement on Tuesday that conditions like lack of training and inadequate policies were “the moving force behind Anthony’s death” and that “sooner or later” the public will see the full video of Johnson’s death.
When that happens, the “public will get to see just how horrible Anthony was treated prior to his death,” he said. “The public will get to see that the jailers did absolutely nothing to assist Anthony during his last minutes on this earth. Once that video is released, I’m sure Waybourn will say something to deflect from the truth.”
As to the county’s dismissal from the lawsuit, Washington said the Johnson family is “disappointed” but “remains optimistic and will continue to fight.”
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court has approved up to $585,000 for outside counsel in the lawsuit, with $100,000 of that going toward legal representation for the county.
The commissioners approved hiring outside attorneys for Rafael Moreno and Joel Garcia — the guards indicted on murder charges — in August. Moreno put his knee on Johnson’s back for around a minute and a half. Johnson can be heard saying he could not breathe in the partial video of the altercation.
The commissioners approved hiring three more in September, nine others in November and one more in December, as well as $20,000 more earlier this month for one of the jailers whose defense had already billed the county over the $30,000 initially approved.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons has consistently cast symbolic votes against approving the funding, despite the county’s legal requirement to do so, saying she “voted her conscience.”
