Lawyer in jail death lawsuit asks court to reconsider dropping Tarrant County from case
A lawyer representing the family of a man who died in the Tarrant County jail filed a motion on Feb. 19, asking a judge to reconsider the county’s dismissal from the wrongful death lawsuit earlier this month.
Marine veteran Anthony Johnson Jr. died in the Tarrant County jail in April 2024 during an altercation with jailers. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, and two guards face murder charges.
Federal Judge Reed O’Connor dropped the county as a defendant in the case on Feb. 7, ruling that Johnson’s death was not the result of “unsafe conditions of confinement.”
The dismissal “creates an impossible situation for the Plaintiffs,” the motion states, noting that the plaintiffs have repeatedly asked the court to compel the county to release the full unreleased footage of the altercation, and that the court and county have not granted that request.
The Sheriff’s Office released partial footage of the altercation in May. Johnson can be heard saying he could not breathe as jailer Rafael Moreno knelt on his back for around a minute and a half.
Some people have demanded the release of the full video, but the Texas Attorney General’s Office has sided with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office in its request to withhold the release of the full footage.
The motion filed Wednesday also asks the court to allow the plaintiff to file a third amended complaint, included in the filing, that has documents challenging O’Connor’s ruling regarding the relation of jail conditions to Johnson’s death.
“The County’s custom of creating unsafe conditions of confinement for pretrial detainees by not placing them on a floor dedicated for inmates with a mental illness places detainees like Johnson in risk of harm and the failure to receive medication a reality, all which happened,” the amended complaint states.
The amended claim includes documents from Johnson’s booking into the jail that show that jailers were aware of his mental illness, but housed him in a general population pod anyway. Johnson had schizophrenia.
“In accordance with [the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure] the Tarrant County Jail staff is notifying the Magistrate’s Court of the named inmate suspected of having mental illness or mental retardation,” one document reads.
Another form shows that Johnson answered “Yes” to questions asking if he had been diagnosed with a mental illness by a doctor or mental health provider and if he ever had or was currently taking medication for it. He answered “No” to questions about having thoughts of or ever having attempted suicide.
“Had Anthony been placed on a floor for people with mental illness and had he been given his medicine, he would be alive today, because Simmons, Moreno and Garcia would not have been on that floor,” said the family’s attorney Daryl Washington.
Jailer Jaquavious Simmons was one of two who sprayed pepper spray directly into Johnson’s mouth before Moreno placed a knee on his back. Joel Garcia, who faces murder charges, was the supervising officer at the time.
Johnson’s sister Janell Johnson mentioned the documents before County Judge Tim O’Hare ordered sheriff’s deputies to remove her for using an expletive during a moment of emotion while she addressed the court on Wednesday.
“We actually just filed a motion today letting you know we have that evidence,” she said.
O’Hare ordered bailiffs to remove Janell Johnson when she raised her voice while addressing the court last June.
He also ordered the removal of her father Anthony Johnson Sr. on Wednesday when he spoke up as she was being escorted out of the courtroom.
“This is the same action I want for my son, Mr. O’Hare,” he said as sheriff’s deputies surrounded him and told him to leave. “We’ll see how things go when the trial happens.”
After they left, and the commissioners returned from executive session, the court unanimously approved another $100,000 in additional funding for outside counsel to represent the county in the lawsuit. The amount brings the total approved for outside legal representation to $685,000.
“This is a colossal waste of money,” said Fort Worth resident and Marine veteran Bishop Kirkland, a regular at Commissioners Court sessions.
He and others repeated calls for the release of the full footage of Johnson’s death.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 4:40 PM.
