The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant who was fired and later rehired after the death of jail detainee Anthony Johnson Jr. was already facing potential discipline in an unrelated matter that county officials would not disclose Monday.
Johnson died in April after a detention officer knelt on his back while he was restrained on the ground outside his jail cell. Johnson told the jailer he couldn’t breathe, video footage of the incident shows.
Sheriff Bill Waybourn fired Officer Rafael Moreno — who knelt on Johnson — and Lt. Joel Garcia, who filmed the incident and did not stop Moreno, he told reporters in May. Johnson’s official cause of death has not yet been released.
Both men were later reinstated and placed on paid administrative leave following the advice of the district attorney’s office.
But a county attorney on Monday told the Sheriff’s Department Civil Service Commission Garcia was already the subject of a separate investigation before Johnson’s death.
The commission, which enforces rules regarding disciplinary action and dismissals, discussed the Moreno and Garcia cases at a meeting Monday afternoon.
Assistant Criminal District Attorney David Hudson told the two commission members — appointed by the sheriff and the DA, respectively — the jailers were put on suspension with pay, “in order to properly complete the civil service process.”
He also mentioned there were two cases under Garcia’s name instead of one, which raised questions from commission member Steve Sparks.
Hudson explained Garcia “had two Internal Affairs cases,” and that they were unrelated, but did not elaborate further.
After the meeting, Hudson referred questions to the Sheriff’s Office, but did say the other investigation did not involve allegations of physical force or injury.
Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Jennifer Gabbert was also at the Civil Service Commission meeting Monday and declined to speak on any open cases.
Garcia’s attorney, Randy Moore, declined to give full details on the first investigation because the sheriff has not addressed it publicly. He did say it “involved the supervision of people supervising inmates" at the Green Bay Jail in north Fort Worth.
“Nobody got hurt. Nothing happened. They just don't like the way he did it," Moore said.
The Sheriff’s Office originally proposed a one-day suspension for Garcia based on that case, and they were in the process of appealing that suspension, Moore said. After Johnson’s death, the sheriff fired Garcia for both incidents, he added.
KERA reached out to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office again for comment on Moore’s description of events.
Moore said he’s unsure what will happen next in either disciplinary case.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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