Tarrant County commissioners voted to settle another lawsuit alleging neglect and mistreatment in the county jail – pushing the total payouts for such lawsuits to more than $4.3 million in two years.
Kelly Masten, a woman with intellectual disabilities and a severe seizure disorder, spent a week and a half in the Tarrant County Jail in 2022. Jail staff left her to seize in an unpadded metal-and-concrete cell, where she fell and injured herself repeatedly, according to the federal lawsuit filed earlier this year.
Masten’s sister and guardian, Kristina Salinas, and county attorneys have agreed to settle the case for $775,000, according to Commissioners Court meeting agenda documents. County commissioners approved the settlement at their meeting Tuesday.
"I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal sorrow to the family," Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons said.
Simmons, the court's most vocal critic of the jail, was the lone vote against the settlement. In a statement after the meeting, Simmons explained she meant to vote yes.
"I take full responsibility for the mistake and want to be clear that I stand by my support for the settlement," she wrote.
Police brought Masten to jail in April 2022 after she bit her grandmother during a tantrum, according to the lawsuit. Her grandmother called 911, expecting to get medical help. Police assured the family Masten would be transferred to the hospital in a few hours, the lawsuit states.
Instead, Masten spent a week and a half in jail, followed by weeks in the hospital where she had to be placed in a medically induced coma, according to the lawsuit.
Masten’s sister, Kristina Salinas, recalled the moment she finally saw Masten in an op-ed for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“My knees buckled. My screams brought hospital security running to us. She looked like two grown men had repeatedly beaten her,” Salinas wrote. “She was covered in large bruises and had broken ribs. She had been unwashed and unchanged for days. Her hair was so matted, most of it had to be shaved.”
Masten survived, though no one expected her to, Salinas wrote.
Two years before Masten’s incarceration, Javonte Myers died of a seizure disorder in his Tarrant County jail cell. Two detention officers, Erik Gay and Darien Kirk, were accused of lying about checking on him. Gay pleaded guilty to falsifying the checks, and Kirk’s case is still pending.
In September 2023, Myers’ family got a $1 million lawsuit settlement in his death. That was biggest settlement in county history at the time, according to County Administrator Chandler Merritt.
That record only stood for a few months. Chasity Congious received a $1.2 million settlement in May after she gave birth unattended in her cell, and her daughter, Zenorah, died soon after.
The most recent payout — $750,000 — went to the family of Georgia Kay Baldwin, who died in custody of suspected dehydration.
Other lawsuits over jail deaths are still pending.
Cassandra Johnson is suing over the death of her son Trelynn Wormley, who died of a drug overdose six months into his incarceration, county records show.
The family of Anthony Johnson Jr. filed a lawsuit against the county and more than a dozen jailers after Johnson’s death in April. Johnson died of asphyxiation after jailers pepper sprayed him, and one knelt on his back. On top of the lawsuit, two detention officers have been indicted for murder.
Johnson's sister, Janell Johnson, spoke during public comment Tuesday and questioned what the $4.3 million worth of payouts has done for local residents.
"Where's the accountability? Where's the justice? And what have they truly done to improve the lives of the people in Tarrant County?" she said. "It's time to demand better."
When county employees are sued, the county also foots the bill for their legal representation. Commissioners approved hiring a lawyer for one of the Johnson lawsuit defendants Tuesday, at a cost of no more than $30,000. They’ve approved the same terms for multiple other defendants.
This story has been updated following the Tarrant County Commissioners Court vote to approve the settlement.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on X @MirandaRSuarez.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
