Tarrant County commissioners voted on Tuesday to hire outside lawyers to defend two former Tarrant County jail employees in a lawsuit.
Officer Rafael Moreno and Lt. Joel Garcia, who had over 30 years of experience combined, were fired in May following the death of inmate Anthony Johnson, 31. The officers were subsequently reinstated only days later and placed on administrative leave but were again fired in July after getting indicted for murder.
Johnson died after detention officers used Oleoresin Capsicum spray on him after he refused to exit his cell during a routine search, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Moreno kneeled on Johnson’s back for over a minute after he had been pepper sprayed. During the altercation, Johnson said at least once, “I can’t breathe.”
Johnson was examined by medical staff, during which time he became unresponsive. The medical team transported Johnson to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Johnson had a history of schizophrenia, according to Johnson’s sisters, Chanell and Janell.
In July, Johnson’s family filed a 62-page lawsuit in federal court. The family claimed that his death resulted from excessive force, lack of training, failure to provide proper medical assistance, and deficient supervision, reported CBS News Texas.
Tarrant County commissioners voted 4-1 to hire outside lawyers for Moreno and Garcia, who are listed as co-defendants, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The sole commissioner to vote against the hiring of outside lawyers was Commissioner Alisa Simmons.
“My sensibilities won’t let me vote for this, despite the statute,” Simmons said, per the Star-Telegram, referring to a law that requires the county to employ attorneys for Moreno and Garcia. “Most all of us have viewed that portion of the video in which Anthony Johnson Jr. took his last breath and died while in restraint and under the knee of our jail staff. So we’re going to pay law firms — two separate law firms — to tell us that the decision we made to fire those two detention officers was not right.”
