The Texas Rangers are investigating the death of a man who died in custody at the Tarrant County Jail Sunday following a "medical emergency."
Anthony Johnson, 31, allegedly did not let detention officers to search his cell during routine cell checks and pepper spray was used to bring him "under control," according to the sheriff's office.
John Peter Smith medical staff examined him but Johnson became unresponsive during the examination. He was transported to JPS Hospital where he was pronounced dead just after 10 a.m., the sheriffs office said.
Johnson's death is just the latest in a string of incidents over the past few years. A Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigation found Robert Miller died after he being pepper-sprayed repeatedly at close range in the jail just hours after he was booked.
There have been more than 60 deaths in the Tarrant County jail since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017.
Waybourn's office has attributed the jail deaths in part to an increased population and short staffing. But the county has also been the target of lawsuits for jailers' alleged treatment of detainees, and critics in Tarrant County say some of the deaths are due to negligence.
During a town hall, residents brought up their concerns to Waybourn, who blamed the rising population and drugs from the border. Waybourn did not offer evidence to support the claim. Tarrant County is more than 400 miles from the Texas-Mexico border.
State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, told Waybourn in January that 60 deaths in seven years was "far too many."
“Representative," Waybourn responded, "I promise you I don’t want to have one."
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