Lawsuit by Anthony Johnson’s family is more about changing jail than money, attorney says

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The family of Anthony Johnson Jr., who authorities say was killed by jailers in the Tarrant County Jail on April 21, wants to see change more than anything else.

That’s what Daryl Washington, the family’s attorney, said at a news conference in Dallas on Tuesday after filing a lawsuit against the county and multiple jailers for wrongful death and violation of Johnson’s civil rights.

The lawsuit demands damages but does not yet say how much money the family is seeking. Washington said that will come later, but money isn’t the family’s priority. Johnson’s family wants to see change in the way the Tarrant County Jail works, especially in the policies and procedures for how to deal with inmates who have mental illnesses.

Johnson was killed by jailers after he was pepper-sprayed in the mouth, taken to the floor, handcuffed and a heavy-set jailer put his knee on Johnson’s back for 90 seconds, according to the lawsuit. The 31-year-old Marine veteran, standing 5-foot-4 and in the middle of a schizophrenic episode, was arrested two days before he died.

Johnson’s family said he hadn’t slept in about 48 hours and was manic when on the morning of April 19 he asked his mother to take him to a mental health hospital in Fort Worth. WellBridge Hospital turned him away, telling his mother he couldn’t be admitted because he wasn’t a danger to himself or others, according to the lawsuit.

Later that same day, Johnson was arrested at an intersection in Saginaw wielding a knife, authorities have said.

Washington said that while the family wants the county to have to pay for what happened to Johnson, their main goal is to see the jail create new policies.

“You should not go into the jail with the belief that you may not leave alive,” Washington said at the news conference. “That is the fear Sheriff (Bill) Waybourn has instilled in the people of Tarrant County.”

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The family especially wants a new policy to require the jail to have staff trained in dealing with inmates with mental illness, Washington said. Jail staff trained in how to communicate and interact with inmates who have mental illnesses like schizophrenia could make the jail a safer place for inmates and jailers alike, he said.

The family’s hope is that the murder indictments a Tarrant County grand jury handed up against jailer Rafael Moreno and supervisor Lt. Joel Garcia will force change, and that the lawsuit and any money the county has to pay will do the same, according to Washington.

The indictments against Garcia and Moreno came after the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Johnson’s death was a homicide caused by chemical and mechanical asphyxiation. Washington said the chemical part of the cause of death came from pepper spray deployed directly into Johnson’s mouth.

“It may not be a quick change,” he said, but he does believe change can happen and that the indictments and lawsuit will help encourage it.

Washington said at the news conference that he also wants to see an investigation into every death or injury that has happened in the Tarrant County Jail since Waybourn took office in 2017.

The lawsuit may take a while to go before a jury, Washington said. Filing after indictments were handed up could lead to a civil court judge postponing any trial in the lawsuit until the criminal trials have ended. He hopes that won’t be the case, he said, but wouldn’t be surprised.

The suit accuses jailers, including 10 jailers not yet named, of causing Johnson’s death and of displaying no urgency in getting him medical attention.

Whatever happens, Washington said, the family intends to see the case presented before a jury.

“We intend to go all the way with it,” Washington told the Star-Telegram after the Tuesday news conference.

Washington renewed statements that a full version of video, of which portions were released by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, will show that jailers and medical professionals in the jail failed to take Johnson’s condition seriously after he became unresponsive. They took too long to attend to him and then showed apathy in treating him, Washington said.

The Sheriff’s Office released the partial version of the video after weeks of Star-Telegram investigative work. Multiple sources, including the family, have told the Star-Telegram the full version of the video depicts jailers showing little interest in getting help for Johnson and medical professionals demonstrating no urgency in treating him. Some told the Star-Telegram the portions of the video showing what happened after Moreno stood up from putting his weight on Johnson’s back are the worst part.