‘We’re coming after you’: Anthony Johnson’s family vows to pursue justice in jail homicide

Read the latest in our coverage of the death of Anthony Johnson Jr. and other issues in Tarrant County jail.

Jacqualyne Johnson said getting the news that the Tarrant County medical examiner ruled her son’s death in the Tarrant County Jail a homicide was like him dying again.

It was the family’s first public statement since the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office released the autopsy results on Friday ruling Anthony Johnson Jr’s death a homicide by asphyxiation. On the doorstep of the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in downtown Fort Worth on Tuesday, the family’s attorney Daryl Washington said he is confident that criminal charges are coming as a result of that ruling.

He expects that by the end of June, Lt. Joel Garcia and jailer Rafael Moreno will face indictments from a Tarrant County grand jury, based on conversations he’s had with authorities and the evidence he’s seen.

Johnson became unresponsive and died after Moreno put his knee on the 31-year-old inmate’s back after he had been pepper-sprayed, restrained and handcuffed by corrections officers in the county jail on April 21, partial video of the altercation shows. While face down on the ground, Johnson could be heard saying that he couldn’t breathe.

The ruling of mechanical and chemical asphyxiation means the medical examiner found that the use of force and pepper spray contributed to Johnson’s suffocation.

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office has said that Johnson resisted jailers’ orders during a routine contraband check of his cell, but his family contends that video of the altercation shows the opposite.

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The released footage of the altercation includes two sets of video, one from a security camera across the pod from Johnson’s cell and another from a cell phone recorded by Garcia, who was the commanding officer. The security camera footage is grainy, but Johnson’s family has said that it shows that he was not resisting jailers when the struggle began.

Jacqualyne Johnson told the Star-Telegram that she watched her son die on those videos, but seeing an overweight jailer put his weight on Johnson’s back with his knee “wasn’t the bad part.”

“They didn’t care for him,” she said of the medical staff at the jail, based on video she has seen.

Jacqualyne also said she won’t let authorities slander her son.

“I promised myself and I promised my family that I would not allow them to assassinate my son’s name,” she said.

Jacqualyne and Washington both said that Sheriff Bill Waybourn’s previous statement that Johnson had a razor and a shiv in his cell was a lie of omission. The cell he was in for less than a day was not cleaned like it was supposed to be after the previous inmate was moved out of it, Washington said. The contraband was already there, according to the attorney, and he says Waybourn knew that.

Johnson’s father, Anthony Johnson Sr., told the Star-Telegram after the news conference Tuesday that authorities haven’t heard from him much over the course of the investigation, but they will soon.

“Bill Waybourn doesn’t know about me yet,” he said. “I know my son won’t be coming back, but this isn’t about just him anymore. This is about this case. About this jail. About something that needs to change.”

Speaking outside of the jail following a march through downtown by a small group of activists on May 30, Johnson’s family called on the Sheriff’s Office to release the full video of the altercation, which they have seen and say is around 15 minutes in total.

“It’s bad,” Anthony Johnson Sr. told the Star-Telegram last month. “When they release the video, you’ll see. It’d be something for you to see. It’s just inhumane. My son didn’t deserve that.”

Johnson’s sister Janell was removed from the commissioners court session on June 4 after she raised her voice to County Judge Tim O’Hare while demanding action in her brother’s case.

“Mr. O’Hare, I need you to look at me,” she said. “You guys killed my brother. No, you guys need to listen.”

Activists from several local organizations pushing for jail reform have organized another protest for Thursday outside the county jail, located at 100 N. Lamar St. in downtown Fort Worth, after a march from City Hall. The protest begins at noon.

Following last week’s medical examiner’s report, Precinct 2 County Commissioner Alisa Simmons released a statement calling for accountability in the Sheriff’s Office.

“The accountability I am calling for includes the filing of applicable charges for all involved to include detention officers, supervisors, and medical personnel. The shocking tactics displayed in the limited video that was released make clear that Sheriff Bill Waybourn is ultimately responsible for this tragedy,” Simmons said.

Corbin Johnson, Anthony Johnson’s 10-year-old nephew, said at Tuesday’s news conference that he didn’t understand why his uncle was dead.

“They killed him,” he said. “Nobody should be able to get murdered in there. ... Why did they have to kill him? I don’t understand. He should not be killed at all.”

Simmons’ call for a Department of Justice investigation into the jail is joined by the family and, as of Monday, by U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey.

Johnson’s case has garnered broader attention since Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, has called for the federal government to investigate conditions at the Tarrant County Jail, citing a “distressing pattern of inmate deaths and jail incidents.”

Members of the Justice Network of Tarrant County, an organization advocating for jail reform, among other issues, told the Star-Telegram that they have been contacted by national media outlets regarding the situation in the jail.

Washington said Tuesday that he wants to see indictments against not only Moreno and Garcia, but also against other jailers who were involved and against medical staff who he and the family feel didn’t make any real effort to save Johnson’s life.

As for Johnson’s family, they said their fight will not end with indictments.

“What you did is a pattern of practice — you can’t tell me you haven’t done this before,” Jacqualyne said. “AJ was 5-foot-4. ... He didn’t stand a chance. We’re coming after you.”