The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office declined to give a briefing on current standard operating procedures that apply to the jail during Tuesday's Commissioners Court meeting.
The briefing, requested by Commissioner Alisa Simmons, was set to follow a report by KERA News that found the Sheriff's Office restraint and use of force policies have not been updated in more than 15 years.
In a statement read off by Chandler Merritt, Sheriff Bill Waybourn said TCSO is "heavily" mandated by rules and regulations and follows state guidelines along with county policies. He added that a public discussion about the sheriff's office policies would not be productive. Waybourn was not present at Tuesday's meeting.
Despite his absence, Simmons asked several questions directed at his office.
"I hope the sheriff will watch this and get back to me or us with some answers," she said.
Simmons said she submitted an open records request for the standard operating procedures — or "SOP's" — in July, but had not received them as of Tuesday.
"I believe that requesting something as simple as the sheriff's department's SOP's for how this sheriff's office operates is very appropriate for me in this role as county commissioner," she said.
Commissioners Roy Brooks and Manny Ramirez also spoke in favor of transparency when it came to Sheriff's Office policies.
"We deserve as a body the right to be briefed on what they are, and I don't think that the sheriff should be deciding what this board, what we can hear and what we can't," Brooks said.
Ramirez said industry-wide law enforcement general orders and certain SOP's are publicly available online.
"I do think in this instance, radical transparency is probably the best policy," Ramirez said. "So I would love to see the general orders published."
Tuesday's meeting was not the first time Waybourn has skipped a sheriff's office briefing.
Waybourn previously did not show up to the May 7 Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting following Anthony Johnson Jr.'s in-custody death. He also did not show up to the June 4 Commissioners Court meeting to give a briefing on the in-custody death of Chasity Corday Bonner.
Tarrant County has paid at least $2.8 million in settlements over jail lawsuits in recent years — $2.2 million of that total paid out in the last 11 months.
The largest settlement in the county's history — $1.2 million — was approved May 21 for the death of Chasity Congious' daughter Zenorah. Congious gave birth to Zenorah alone in her county jail cell in 2020.
Simmons agreed with the payout to Congious, but she previously said the cost of the lawsuit was enough to take care of three days operating expenses at the jail.
"Tarrant County taxpayers are paying quite a heavy price to subsidize the dehumanizing culture in our jail and leadership failures manifesting in the sheriff's office, which I believe are the root causes of these tragedies," she said.
Simmons and community members have called for accountability and Waybourn's resignation in the months following Johnson's death.
His sister, Janell, spoke during Tuesday's meeting. She, along with members of her family, have made a point of attending each commissioners court meeting to demand Waybourn's resignation and for the release of the full video showing what happened before and after Johnson died.
"Now that somebody like me is here to show you, is here to represent that this is what you guys are proud of, now he wants to hide and now he wants to get away," she said. "Now Tarrant County residents, now you're going to be paying for their attorneys of the people who murdered my brother."
Fort Worth resident Bishop Kirkland, who also spoke during the meeting, said he was not surprised that Waybourn did not show up to Tuesday's meeting.
"I wouldn't come either if I could get any- and everything I wanted from you people," he said during public comment. "You keep writing him checks the way you write him checks, I wouldn't be accountable either. I wouldn't come in, sit here and hold my feet to the fire if I could get everything that I wanted with zero accountability."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
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!
