Catherine Cano and Ruth Hernandez looked through old family photos in their living room, pointing to their brother in each one.
“He wasn’t a serious person, he was more funny and outgoing and kind and [caring],” Cano said. “He always cared for his family. If he needed help, he'll be there to help us.”
It had been about a week since Cano and Hernandez last spoke to their brother.
Then Cano got a phone call Tuesday from Tarrant County that her brother has died while in custody at Tarrant County Jail.
"I'm broken," Cano said. "I'm heartbroken that it had to happen this way. It shouldn't have happened this way."
Jose Orozco, 37, died Tuesday at John Peter Smith Hospital after a day of being in custody.
In an interview Thursday, Cano and Hernandez told KERA News they want answers on what happened to Orozco before he died.
Hernandez said he may have had drugs in his system when he was booked into jail and was going through withdrawal symptoms. She believes authorities neglected medical care.
“He could have gotten some type of help before he died and just seeing him in person with my mom, it was hard to see him lifeless because he was trying,” Hernandez said through tears. “He had struggles, but he was trying to be better than before, and I don't feel like he was given enough time.”
Orozco’s death marks the sixth death at Tarrant County Jail this year, raising concerns from the community and one county commissioner how the jail is run.
Laurie Passman, a spokesperson for Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, told KERA News Friday she cannot further comment on the family's claims as the case remains under active investigation by multiple agencies.
"We believe the most responsible course is to allow the investigative process to run its course and for all relevant facts to come forward before reaching any conclusions or offering further comment," Passman said.
In a press release shared after Orozco's death, the sheriff's office said he was found unresponsive in his cell around 11 a.m. Tuesday. A detention officer in Orozco's housing unit began life-saving measures before he was transported to JPS.
He was pronounced dead Tuesday at 12:11 p.m., according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office website.
Court records show Orozco was arrested and booked into Tarrant County Jail early Monday morning on a burglary of a building charge.
Four men died within 11 days in June, all of which suffered “medical emergencies” or were found unresponsive in their cells. One of those deaths is not being investigated or considered an in-custody death after he was released from jail custody while at the hospital – less than 30 minutes before he was pronounced dead, court records and medical examiner records show.
Details on what happened to detainees before they die are typically vague in press releases from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. Orozco’s sisters said they received little information.
Hernandez said a chaplain from Tarrant County Sheriff's Office Chaplain's Office told her jailers found Orozco unresponsive in his cell and that he died in his cell. She also said officers from the sheriff’s office told her Orozco had a tube down his throat and bruising on his chest from the attempted life-saving measures performed before he was transported to the hospital.
Orozco’s family was not allowed to see his body at the hospital, according to Hernandez. Instead, she said his body was covered in a bag, only exposing his face while law enforcement stayed in the room the entire time.
“We need to be heard, “Hernandez said. “Something in there isn't right. It needs to be addressed. Like we can't keep losing people that we love just because they don't want to do their job.”
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Email Penelope at privera@kera.org
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