Three Tarrant County jailers are denying any wrongdoing in relation to the death of Anthony Johnson Jr., an inmate who died after fighting with jail staff when weapons were found in his cell.
JaQuavious Simmons, Elijah Marez, and Jonathan Nymoen, responding to a lawsuit brought forth by Johnson’s family, claim they are covered by qualified immunity, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The three jailers were added as defendants in the lawsuit in August. Other named defendants, like jailers Rafael Moreno and Joel Garcia, were fired and indicted for murder.
Even more jailers are listed in the suit as defendants, albeit under the designation “John Doe jailers.” Daryl Washington, the attorney representing Johnson’s family, said he expects the real names of the John Joe jailers will eventually be added, per the Star-Telegram.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Johnson died on April 21 during a morning routine check for contraband, which resulted in a fight. Johnson was pepper sprayed and brought under control. While onsite medical staff from John Peter Smith Hospital examined Johnson, the inmate became unresponsive and was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An ongoing letter-writing campaign is demanding that the county release the full unredacted video of Johnson’s death. The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office only released a partially edited video, which concluded by the time Johnson became unresponsive, reported the Star-Telegram.
The sheriff’s office has not released the full video per its internal policy.
“Our decision to not release the video is not ‘an attempt to manipulate public opinion and avoid scrutiny’ as the letter-writing campaign would lead you to believe,” the sheriff’s office said, per the Star-Telegram. “Instead, as we’ve stated all along, it is against TCSO standards to release any images (still or video) of unresponsive or deceased individuals.”