A 68-year-old man died while in Tarrant County Jail custody Friday.
Mclendon Caldwell’s cause of death was not yet listed with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office Friday evening.
Caldwell, who was booked in the Tarrant County Jail earlier this year, is the seventh person to die while in Tarrant County Jail custody in 2024.
The Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Caldwell had a "history of medical issues" and died at John Peter Smith Hospital in the care of medical staff. The statement said Caldwell had been transported to JPS multiple times for ongoing issues since he was booked into jail in February.
There have been at least 65 people who have died in Tarrant County custody since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017. That number includes one person who died at a private prison outside Lubbock that Tarrant County pays to use.
Chasity Corday Bonner, 35, died after a "medical emergency" on May 27.
Caldwell's death also follows the death of Anthony Johnson Jr., who died in April.
Since Johnson's death, at least one detention officer and supervisor have been indicted for murder. Both were fired for a second time this month after they were reinstated following their initial firing.
Johnson's death has sparked calls for accountability and transparency in the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office. Community members, activists, and at least one county commissioner have called for Waybourn's resignation.
Commissioner Alisa Simmons previously questioned Waybourn's leadership and said the number of in-custody deaths made him unqualified to serve.
"We need someone at the top in the sheriff's office who is attentive, who is available, who's paying attention to what's happening in his jail," Simmons said during a press conference in May. "We should not have this level, this number of deaths at the jail."
Simmons requested a briefing on the Sheriff's Office standard operating procedures for the next Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday.
The request comes after a report by KERA found the Sheriff's Office restraint and use of force policies have not been revised in more than 15 years.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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