Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn told county commissioners Wednesday he would not participate in any more briefings about deaths in jail custody called by County Commissioner Alisa Simmons. He let them know through an email, which was read aloud by another county staff member.
Simmons is a frequent critic of the jail, and alongside some community members, she has called on Waybourn to resign over his handling of deaths in custody. She requests briefings about jail issues at Tarrant County Commissioners Court meetings, some of which Waybourn has attended, and some of which he hasn’t.
No one from the sheriff’s office showed up for the briefing called during the last commissioners court meeting. Simmons called it again for Wednesday’s meeting, and again, no one showed. Waybourn sent an email explaining his absence, which County Administrator Chandler Merritt read to commissioners.
"The repeated lack of civility displayed by the Precinct 2 commissioner towards Tarrant County staff is both hostile and unprofessional,” Merritt read. “I will not subject anyone from this office to that type of inappropriate treatment. Therefore, no one from this agency will participate in briefings requested by the Precinct 2 commissioner before this court.”
The sheriff’s office already sends out press releases about each death, Waybourn wrote in the email. If Simmons, journalists or members of the public have questions about jail deaths, they can submit a public records request, he said.
The briefings are for the public, not herself, Simmons said.
“If you don’t want your staff to come down here and take questions, that’s your responsibility in the first place. I didn’t ask you to send staff, I asked you to come down here,” she said. “And where are you? Big tall guy, big hat, guns, everything, and you can’t take questions from the citizenry? Your constituents?”
More than 70 people have died in jail custody since Waybourn took office in 2017, a number that has led to public outcry. Waybourn has defended his jail, arguing there will always be some deaths in custody — there's nothing he can do about someone who gets booked into jail already suffering from a terminal condition. He has also insisted jailers who do wrong face consequences.
Some deaths have raised suspicion and even led to criminal charges. Two jailers are awaiting trial for murder for the death of Anthony Johnson Jr. last year.
Johnson Jr. died of asphyxiation after jailers pepper sprayed him, and one knelt on his back for more than a minute.
The county has paid out more than $4.3 million in lawsuits related to deaths and allegations of mistreatment in the jail. That includes the biggest lawsuit settlement in county history: $1.2 million to Chasity Congious, a woman who gave birth unattended in her cell in 2020. Her daughter died shortly after.
Other lawsuits have been dismissed. A judge spared Tarrant County from a lawsuit over Johnson’s death, ruling that the county’s policy and procedures did not lead to Johnson’s death.
The same judge also dismissed a lawsuit over the fentanyl overdose death of Trelynn Wormley, saying once again the lawsuit failed to prove there was a systemic problem — in this case, letting drugs inside the jail.
In 2025, the sheriff’s office has reported five in-custody deaths. That includes Kimberly Phillips, who died of starvation and dehydration, and Charles Stephen Johnson, who died by suicide.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez atmsuarez@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, considermaking a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.
