The death of Anthony Johnson Jr., a man who died in Tarrant County jail custody in April, has been ruled a homicide by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.
The medical examiner's website lists Johnson's cause of death as mechanical and chemical asphyxia.
Attorney Daryl Washington said in a statement on behalf of the Johnson family that the ruling only confirms what they saw in the full video showing his death.
"We are aware that the jailers’ unnecessary use of the pepper spray contributed to Anthony’s death," the family said in the statement. "In an extended video that has not been released to the public, we also saw a continuation of his brutalization after he was murdered. There is no denying any of this, so we are not the least bit surprised and no one else should be."
Johnson's family called for the officers involved to be terminated and prosecuted.
The 31-year-old got into a physical altercation with detention officers after refusing to leave his cell on April 21, according to security camera and iPhone video footage from the incident.
A man identified as detention officer Rafael Moreno can be seen in the video kneeling on Johnson's back for more than a minute. Johnson was also pepper sprayed, and can be heard saying "I can't breathe" at least once during the video.
Moreno and his supervisor, Lt. Joel Garcia, were fired after Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said they violated department policy in their handling of Johnson's death. Moreno was fired for allegedly violating department policy and Garcia was fired for not stopping in to intervene. Waybourn later reinstated both men but placed them on administrative leave.
As of Friday afternoon, no one has been charged and the investigation is ongoing.
Johnson's chemical asphyxiation was due to the use of OC or oleoresin capsicum spray "along with the presence of methamphetamine as a contributing factor," according to a release from the sheriff's office.
"Despite the political grandstanding of some, this case will go forward and all corroborated facts will be presented in the halls of Justice," Waybourn said in a statement.
Randy Moore, an attorney representing Garcia, told KERA that there were still many questions that need to be answered. He added that he had yet to see the autopsy or blood test results.
"I question why is it only my client and Officer Moreno are being held accountable when inmates keep dying after rank and file employees are no longer working the jail," Moore said. "Why was the executive chief allowed to retire and no other supervisors, officers and medical staff are being held accountable?"
Last week Executive Chief Deputy Charles Eckert announced his retirement. He worked for the TCSO for 32 years and ran the jail since December 2020.
Eckert told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram his retirement had nothing to do with recent jail deaths.
County Judge Tim O'Hare said in a statement that the conduct of jail personnel involved in Johnson's death "invokes strong emotions." He added justice in the case was dependent on a fair and impartial investigation.
"I intend to refrain from further comment on the facts of the matter until the legal process has concluded," he said in the statement. "The public, especially members of the media, should allow the justice system to work, and not attempt to influence the jury pool or shape public opinion before all facts of the case are known and have been weighed by a jury."
O'Hare added that "law and order will be maintained."
The Medical Examiner’s ruling comes the same week one of Johnson’s sisters, Janell, was removed from a Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting. She was removed after yelling at O’Hare to look at her as she asked for answers to her brother’s death.
"A month and now the people who killed my brother are sitting at the house getting paid right now," Johnson said with a rising voice. "Mr. O'Hare I need you to look at me, you guys killed my brother."
Waybourn was notably absent from this week’s commissioners court meeting. Instead, County Administrator Chandler Merritt read from a press release about another jail death, Chasity Bonner, who died in May.
Calls for Waybourn’s resignation ignited following the release of five minutes of video showing some of the events preceding Johnson’s death.
That includes the group United My Justice and Commissioner Alisa Simmons, who criticized Waybourn’s absence on Tuesday.
"Our sheriff again refused to come and brief on this item which should concern all of you, every citizen," Simmons said at the time.
There have been at least 65 deaths in the Tarrant County Jail since Waybourn took office in 2017.
Michael Bell, facilitator of Unity in the Community Coalition, said in a statement that it was in the best interest of Tarrant County for Waybourn to resign.
"We also recognize that the majority of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, especially with County Judge Tim O’Hare holding the gavel, have, wittingly or unwittingly, enabled the Sheriff to continue to mismanage his office, costing the citizens of Tarrant County millions of dollars in lawsuits, coupled with the loss of credibility and public confidence in the County Sheriff’s Office," Bell said in the statement.
Bell also asked that the county bring in an outside, nonpartisan firm to investigate the Tarrant County Jail and review all prior jail death rulings since Waybourn took office.
In a statement, Simmons said she was saddened by the medical examiner's determination but not surprised by it. Once again she called for accountability from each and every person who had a role in Johnson's death.
"I repeat my call for the sheriff to release all remaining video footage that captured the excessive force death of Mr. Johnson to commissioners’ court members, followed by release to the public," she said in the statement. "As county executives, the first question we must ask and answer is: Could this have been avoided?"
Simmons is set to have her initial meeting with the U.S. Department of Justice next week. She previously said she would ask the department to investigate Johnson's death, calling for accountability and transparency.
Johnson's family has also called for the release of the full video showing his death.
During a United My Justice protest on May 30, Johnson’s sisters said they were not asking for Waybourn to release it, they were demanding it.
"Put that video out there, show Tarrant County, show Texas who y'all are," Janell Johnson said.
Got a tip? Email Toluwani Osibamowo at tosibamowo@kera.org and Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
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