Tarrant County commissioners, citizens push for change in jail following inmate deaths

Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn briefed commissioners on Tuesday on inmate responses at the county jail and best practices.Johnson died after being pepper-sprayed and pinned down by detention officers on April 21.

“He will talk him into a pair of handcuffs, and that’s all we need. So, we use that method and that model all the time," he said. “Firing two people is crumpets," said one neighbor. “To fire two people is asinine. There were at least eight people present." Johnson's family has also aimed at county commissioners for not exercising their authority to make policy changes in the county or pressure Waybourn to make changes in his office.

“I think that a lot of unease, a lot of mistrust can be averted if you have clear policies," he said, including a policy on when evidence in a case, like video, will be released.“We’re not trying to have a lack of transparency in the sheriff’s office. It’s very important to us that we make sure that the investigation is done well and appropriately at the beginning, and then as things can be released, we’re willing to release them, if it will not affect the investigation," she said.

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