Lawyer for family of man who died at Tarrant County Jail 'confident' criminal charges will be filed
FORT WORTH, Texas - The family of Anthony Johnson says they want the Tarrant County jailers involved in his death to be criminally charged after it was ruled a homicide.
The family's attorney, Daryl Washington, feels certain there will be criminal charges against jail staff.
"We’re hoping by the end of the month there will be indictments," said Washington. "I feel confident standing here, and I don’t believe I’m going to have to take my words back."
Washington and Johnson's family reacted publicly for the first time since Friday's Medical Examiner ruling.
Last week, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said that Johnson died from both mechanical and chemical asphyxia. His death was ruled a homicide.
The anticipated report followed a partial release of the April 21 video in the case that shows jailer Rafael Moreno with his knee on Johnson's back as Johnson is handcuffed on the ground.
"The ME’s report was exactly what we thought it was going to be, and it reads like exactly what we saw on the video," said Jacqualyne Johnson, the Marine veteran's mother.
Moreno and a supervisor, Lt. Joel Garcia were both fired, then reinstated due to improper protocol with their terminations.
Attorney Randall Moore, who represents Lt. Garcia, released a timeline that states the supervisor arrived after Johnson was pepper sprayed.
Garcia recorded video of the incident and asked questions about whether Johnson is restrained within 4-minutes of Garcia's arrival, according to Moore.
"Garcia detects from his position behind the fighting officers, supervisors and Johnson, that Johnson had become unresponsive and yells for medical to come up the stairs," said Moore in a statement.
Washington and Johnson's family do not find that to be sufficient.
"In that press statement I didn’t see Garcia say one single time or his attorney state that Garcia was attempting to pull Moreno off of Anthony when Anthony said he couldn’t breathe," said Washington.
Tarrant County inmate Anthony Johnson’s cause of death revealed
An inmate’s death at the Tarrant County jail in April was the result of a homicide, an autopsy report showed.
Johnson's family is demanding the sheriff and Texas Rangers release the full version of the video.
"When you release that video, the one word I want everyone to remember is inhumane. Inhumane. And with that being said, accountability," said Anthony Johnson Sr.
A North Texas congressman is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the six inmate deaths at the Tarrant County jail.
Since 2017, 63 inmates have died while in custody at the Tarrant County jail, a number which is above the national average, according to Texas Congressman Marc Veasey.
He called the pattern "distressing" and wrote a letter to the Justice Department asking for answers and accountability.
Tarrant County jail chief retires following 6th inmate death
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office applauded Chief Charles Eckert's work with the department over the past 32 years. But that is not the sentiment shared by all county public servants and members of the community.
The head of the jail, Chief Charles Eckert, retired last month amid the controversy.
Sheriff Bill Wayborn defended Eckert’s service to the county and said the retirement had been planned for a while. But at least one county commissioner said the change is welcome.