An outside investigation cleared the Tarrant County Jail of criminal wrongdoing in the death of Kimberly Phillips — but advocates say her death was completely preventable with proper care.
Phillips, 56, died of malnutrition and dehydration on Feb. 18, after three weeks in jail. Phillips told jail staff she couldn't eat the food she was given, and jailers noted she wasn’t eating, according to medical records her daughter shared with KERA News. By the time she was sent to the hospital on Feb. 15, her kidneys were failing.
The Denton County Sheriff’s Office conducted an outside investigation into Phillips’ death — which is required by the state — and KERA obtained the investigation report through an open records request. The investigation determined jail staff did not break any criminal laws or violate any relevant policies in caring for Phillips.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office wasn’t surprised by the findings, spokesperson Laurie Passman wrote in an emailed statement.
“From the outset, we had full confidence that an investigation would affirm the professionalism and integrity of our Detention staff,” she said. “They remain committed to treating every individual in our custody with respect and care.”
Since 2020, four people have died of dehydration in jail custody, including Phillips. All had a history of mental illness, and all had water fountains in their cells, according to the sheriff's office.
Phillips only died because jail medical staff failed her, said Krish Gundu, co-founder of the nonprofit advocacy organization Texas Jail Project.
“The excuse of like, ‘We followed policy, and so, shrug, it's not our fault,’ is a terrible excuse,” Gundu said. “Or maybe it tells us we need better policies for scenarios like this, because this is not the first time this has happened."
John Peter Smith Hospital, which is in charge of medical care in the Tarrant County Jail, did not respond to an email with questions about the protocol for when someone is not eating or drinking.
Phillips has a documented history of psychosis, and doctors noted a paranoia about food. Her medical records also list severe allergies.
Her medical records also show this wasn’t the first time she stopped eating in jail — the same thing happened during a previous incarceration.
It’s not clear how long Phillips went without eating or drinking before she died. One jail record noted she had not eaten since Jan. 27, according to her medical file. Another report said Phillips accepted a meal tray on Feb. 11, but it wasn’t clear how much she ate. According to Denton County’s investigation, Phillips refused “approximately half of all meals” during her incarceration.
Denton County Sgt. Jimmy Burke reviewed jail and medical records and found no evidence of injuries, bruising, or foul play leading to Phillips’ hospitalization, according to the report.
Denton County Capt. Ron Pettigrew also reviewed relevant Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office policies and found no violations. Phillips declined her daily meals, and she wouldn’t let providers check her weight or give IV hydration, Pettigrew noted.
If someone is not eating and is refusing care, jail is not the right place for them, said Dr. Homer Venters, a correctional health doctor who works as a federal monitor of healthcare in jails and prisons.
“The patient has to go to the hospital if we think that they're getting worse, or we can't figure out whether or not they're getting worse," he said.
That’s especially true for people with mental illness, whose condition can deteriorate in the isolation of a jail cell, Venters said.
JPS staff are in charge of deciding when to send people to the hospital, Passman previously told KERA News. Once Phillips was sent to JPS on Feb. 15, doctors determined she could not understand the risks of refusing care, so they treated her despite her objections, according to her medical records. She died three days later.
Those kinds of competency examinations need to happen in the jail itself, according to Venters.
Spokesperson Dawn Fernald defended JPS' care in a statement about Phillips earlier this year.
“Any inmate requiring medical attention or treatment receives individualized care in accordance with his or her unique circumstances,” she wrote. “While we are unable to comment on specific patient matters, we do take all inmates’ health needs seriously and strive to deliver the most appropriate care in every instance."
No investigation into a death is complete without an independent medical expert taking a look, too, Venters said. Such a review was not included in Denton County’s report. KERA News requested an interview from the Denton County Sheriff’s Office but did not hear back before this story’s deadline.
Phillips’ daughter, Maranda Mills, has sued the county for information about her mother’s death. Her attorney, Chidi Anunobi, said the investigation proves the Tarrant County Jail failed Phillips.
“The main message is that this case is bigger than Kimberly Phillips,” he said. “It’s about taking responsibility. It's about value for life, even if the person is an inmate.”
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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