Tarrant County residents demanded details surrounding the first jail death of the year at Tuesday's commissioners court meeting — but left with none, amid a recent policy change prohibiting commissioners from requesting information on in-custody deaths.
Commissioners can no longer request briefings on certain topics during commissioners court meetings — including jail deaths, ongoing law enforcement investigations, active criminal prosecutions or active lawsuits — after the court's Republican majority approved a new policy in February. Commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr., both Democrats, voted against the proposal.
Tuesday's meeting was the first time the public received no official acknowledgement of a jail death as part of the county commissioners court meeting agenda.
John Barr, 36, died at a nearby hospital April 19, hours after he was found unresponsive in his jail cell. His cause and manner of death were pending as of Tuesday on the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's website.
A handful of residents raised concerns about Barr's death during Tuesday's public comment portion, like Linda Hanratty, who said she was saddened by the lack of information surrounding his death.
"I am pleased that there have been not so many jail deaths this year, in fact this is the first," she said. "But the public needs to have more information about each jail death so we can support the sheriff's efforts to limit them."
Resident Robert Vann accused the sheriff's office of lacking transparency when it comes to in-custody deaths.
"I'm not sure that anyone has an exact count of how many souls have met their demise in that facility," Vann told commissioners.
There have been at least 74 deaths at the jail since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017— although jail deaths were at their lowest last year since 2020. It's one of the county's most contentious issues, with people every month demanding accountability from the sheriff.
KERA reached out to Waybourn's office for a comment and will update this story with any response.
Tarrant County has spent more than $4.3 million in legal payouts since 2022 in cases involving deaths and allegations of abuse and neglect in the jail.
Most recently, the county has spent at least $635,000 in legal fees to represent itself and jailers named in an ongoing suit from the family of Anthony Johnson Jr., who died after a jailer kneeled on his back for more than a minute.
In the past, Simmons has requested briefings on in-custody deaths from the sheriff's office. Waybourn said in September he would not participate in any more briefings about jail deaths called by Simmons, and in January sent another representative from his office.
Simmons said she still planned to request more details on Barr's death, but isn't able to due to the new policy.
"We cannot publicly discuss declining jail deaths when statistics improve, then discourage public discussion as another death occurs," Simmons said. "That inconsistency weakens public trust and it raises serious concerns about transparency and oversight."
Simmons during Tuesday's commissioners court meeting said elected officials and the public deserve details on every death.
"Demanding oversight, answers, and accountability does not undermine law enforcement," Simmons said. "Responsible oversight strengthens public safety, supports detention officers and county employees, and it helps prevent future tragedies in our jail."
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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