The two Tarrant County jailers who face murder indictments for the killing of Anthony Johnson Jr. have been fired again, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday.
Waybourn originally fired Rafael Moreno and Joel Garcia in May but reinstated them soon after, placing them on leave. According to Waybourn, he had to reinstate them to better follow the civil service rules that guide discipline for county law enforcement.
The Sheriff's Office told KERA Tuesday that Garcia had been fired and Moreno was appealing his case to the Sheriff's Department Civil Service Commission. KERA has asked if Moreno is still appealing his case, and this story will be updated with any response.
Moreno was a detention officer, and Garcia was his supervisor, according to the Sheriff's Office. On April 21, they responded to an altercation with a prisoner named Anthony Johnson Jr. Garcia filmed the incident on a phone camera.
Jailers pepper sprayed Johnson, restrained him and got him facedown on the ground, according to the Sheriff's Office. Moreno knelt on Johnson's back for about 90 seconds, video footage of the incident shows. At one point, Johnson tells jailers he can't breathe.
Johnson died after the altercation. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office declared his cause of death was asphyxiation.
None of the other jailers involved in the altercation face discipline or firing at this time, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Robbie Hoy told KERA Tuesday.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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