Tarrant County adds $15K to legal bill in lawsuit over jail homicide
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved more funding for outside legal representation for jailers involved in the death of Anthony Johnson Jr. in the county jail in April 2024.
At up to $15,000, the approved funding was smaller than previous amounts the court has earmarked for the lawsuit. It brings the total approved dollars for outside lawyers in the case to more than $630,000.
Johnson, a Marine veteran, died on April 21, 2024, after an altercation with guards. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, and two jailers face murder charges.
The funding is for the Fort Worth-based firm Taylor, Olsen, Adkins, Sralla & Elam, which was originally hired in September 2024 to represent jailer Johnathan Nymoen. The firm has billed more than the original amount of $30,000, according to court documentation. The new total approved cost for the firm’s services is now $45,487. Nymoen is not one of the two jailers who face criminal charges.
Several Tarrant County residents spoke in opposition to the additional funding, urging the county to settle the lawsuit.
Bishop Kirkland, a Marine veteran from Fort Worth, called the funding an “open check” in a “bottomless pit” of increasing legal fees for the lawsuit.
“You say 15K, but the reality of this is we spend a whole lot more,” he said. “So you come in here and you nickel and dime us, 15, 20, 30K at a time, while on the back end, this number keeps growing. We just want you to ask for what you really want. Tell us what it’s going to cost us.”
Linda Hanratty of Fort Worth was unsure of the total amount approved in the lawsuit, but said the taxpayers have the right to know.
“It’s our money, not your money, our money, and we’re tired of paying money to a court that says it’s conservative, but when it comes to spending money to hurt people, apparently that’s okay,” she said.
Joe Palmer, a friend of Mason Yancy, who died in the Tarrant County jail in December, suggested the commissioners publish the total funding approved so far on the agenda when such items come before the court.
“I would like to think that I could come to this room, a Republican-controlled body, and have a better experience,” he said. “I don’t have any information coming out of this body giving me explanations of why these things are being voted on. Give me some explanation.”
Palmer also echoed previous speakers’ calls for the county to settle the lawsuit.
Before the vote, Republican Commissioner Matt Krause spoke to emphasize the county’s legal responsibility to approve the funding.
The county is required by law to hire outside legal counsel in cases brought against county employees if the complaint could reasonably lead to criminal charges. County employees cannot be represented by the District Attorney’s Office, as that would be a conflict of interest.
“I get some of the frustration,” Krause said. “I hear this in most of our meetings. Why do you continue to do this? Why do you continue to do this? We do it because we are legally obligated to do it.”
Democratic Commissioner Roderick Miles asked the court’s legal counsel, Assistant District Attorney Mark Kratovil, if he could tell them the statute that requires the county to pay for the lawyers. Kratovil said he did not have the specific statute off the top of his head, but would find it for him.
Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez agreed with Miles’ idea, adding it might be good to include the statute in court communications regarding the funding approvals.
The court voted 4-1 to approve the funding, with Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons voting against. She has told the Star-Telegram after similar no votes in the past that she does so in order to express her support for the Johnson family.
The commissioners approved up to $100,000 to hire outside legal counsel in November to aid the district attorney’s office in representing the county in the lawsuit. Months later, a federal judge dismissed the county from the lawsuit in February.
