Tarrant County Jail needs federal civil rights investigation, county commissioner says

A report evaluating the Tarrant County Jail's physical and mental health care wasn't enough, according to Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons. She still wants the federal government to conduct a civil rights investigation.

More than 65 people have died in Tarrant County custody since Republican Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017 – some under allegations of misconduct and neglect . This year, two jailers were indicted for murder in the killing of Anthony Johnson Jr., who died after detention officers pepper sprayed him, and one knelt on his back.

Simmons, Democratic Congressman Marc Veasey and local activists have called for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the jail . Waybourn responded to those calls by asking the federal government for a review of the jail's physical and mental health care, which he made public in October .

That report is not the same as a civil rights investigation from the DOJ , Simmons told reporters Tuesday.

"They would look into the jail deaths, training deficiencies, operations, look at standards, all of that," she said. "That's what needs to happen here in Tarrant County."

Waybourn was present at the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday to give a briefing on the health report. He told Simmons if there was to be a DOJ investigation, he would "throw the doors open for them."

"But I think it's going to be a waste of their time, and I think that's what they think, too," Waybourn said.

Simmons told reporters the DOJ is "absolutely interested in opening an investigation into our jail" but is held back by staffing issues. KERA has reached out to the DOJ for comment.

The health report does not address some of the jail's biggest problems, Simmons said. She pointed to the recent revelation that the sheriff's office has not been getting third-party investigations into every jail death , as required by state law.

"When you have a sheriff who has been in office for two terms — eight years — and we have those types of violations occurring, it's embarrassing," she said.

The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office maintains it is not breaking the law.

The health report came out of a visit from two experts with the consulting firm Falcon Inc., paid for by the DOJ's National Institute of Corrections. The experts examined the three entities in charge of caring for people behind bars: the sheriff's office, John Peter Smith Hospital (JPS) and My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR).

The report praised the sheriff's office for submitting itself for review and complimented several aspects of the jail's care. People have access to a wide array of medical care in the jail's infirmaries, and mental health staff work to divert people with mental health issues out of the criminal system.

The report also laid out several areas of improvement. People who are detoxing are confined for 23 hours a day, the experts wrote. They proposed that they get more time out of their cells and more visits from family.

The jail is meant to be a short-term facility, Waybourn told commissioners Tuesday.

"What they were suggesting, I might argue, would be more appropriate for a rehab center or a hospital if they were in it," he said.

The report's most pressing recommendation was for more frequent checks on people at risk of suicide. Detention officers should be keeping a constant eye on people at acute risk, but in practice, they're usually checked on every 15 minutes, according to the report.

The report was wrong in that regard, Waybourn said. He told commissioners people at severe risk of suicide do get 24/7 observation.

Implementing other recommendations would not be possible without more money and manpower, Waybourn said — particularly the suggestion that each prisoner get another health check-in 10 to 14 days after booking.

Impact of the health report

In late October, KERA requested an interview from the sheriff's office, JPS and MHMR to find out which recommendations would or would not be adopted.

MHMR CEO Susan Garnett told KERA her agency is working to make it easier for her staff and JPS staff to share patient information through their online records systems, as recommended in the report.

The report also recommended MHMR use a more private space for mental health check-ins. MHMR staff talk to people about their mental health through their cell doors, according to the report.

Any change to that would be up to the sheriff's office, Garnett said.

"The movement of an individual through a jail is not our staff. That's really a jail practice, and so it would really be the sheriff who would have to speak to that," she said.

When asked if there's been discussion between MHMR and the sheriff's office about moving people to a private space for mental health evaluations, Garnett said she was not aware of any.

"We would always defer to the sheriff's office. At the end of the day, right, the sheriff has a responsibility to ensure a safe, secure environment," Garnett said. "We are not experts on how to maintain a safe, secure environment, so we defer totally to them as to how to make that happen."

The same went for the report's recommendation that people with mental health issues be placed in less restrictive housing. Like people who are detoxing, people in specific MHMR housing are held in single cells for 23 hours a day.

Housing decisions are up to the sheriff's office, too, Garnett said.

"Frequently, it's really for the protection of the individual. It could be that because of some of their behaviors, they might irritate others easily. It could be that because of their lower IQ, they might be more vulnerable to being taken advantage of, even if the taking advantage of is taking their food," Garnett said.

When asked what she would change about the jail, Garnett said in an ideal world, fewer people with mental illnesses would be incarcerated for minor offenses.

"You really want people to be in jail because you're scared of them, not because you're mad at them," she said.

JPS did not make anyone available for an interview about the health report. A spokesperson responded with an emailed statement that said some recommendations have been adopted — but did not explain which ones.

"Each of the recommendations received in this report that pertain to the services our JPS medical team provide at the Tarrant County Jail were evaluated and we have already begun to implement some into our existing care plan," the email read. "We appreciate the thoughtful observations made during the visit, which highlighted the outstanding work of our team."

KERA asked again which recommendations JPS would adopt. JPS did not specify.

"The specifics of each recommendation were fully vetted, and we implemented the recommendations that we felt would make our care better," another emailed statement read. "The ones we have chosen not to implement, we are already following the best practice protocols required by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC)."

When asked for an interview, sheriff's office spokesperson Laurie Passman said Waybourn was busy and referred KERA to the eight-minute video the sheriff released alongside the report.

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