The Tarrant County Sheriff’s race is getting heated.
Republican Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn is running for re-election against Democrat challenger Patrick Moses. Moses is a retired federal law enforcement official and a Fort Worth pastor. However, according to the Fort Worth Report, not everyone is convinced that he has the necessary skills to be sheriff.
One key topic that has dominated the election cycle has been jail deaths.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Tarrant County Commissioners have criticized the sheriff over inmates dying in the Tarrant County Jail.
Anthony Johnson Jr. 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.
Weapons were found in Johnson’s cell.
Waybourn, at a September clay shoot fundraiser in western Tarrant County, acknowledged the death of Johnson Jr. as a tragedy but stated that it was an isolated incident in which jailers failed at their task, according to FWR.
“We’re going to have isolated incidents where things go bad, where officers do wrong, because we still have human beings behind that badge,” Waybourn said.
“We’ll never, ever get away from that. But all we can do is train better. To try to raise our standards, to try to see where our weaknesses are and improve on them and hold people accountable to those standards in which we set,” Wayburn added, per FWR.
Moses argues that the people who have died in custody should have never been incarcerated.
“Once they get to that right facility, there are other paths that a person may need to go through, perhaps some education, perhaps job readiness, perhaps resume (preparation), perhaps the right kind of mental health care,” Moses said, reported FWR.
Despite the jail deaths, many people in Tarrant County have stated they believe in Waybourn’s leadership.
“Residents of Tarrant County deserve to live in safe communities. Electing radical Democrats who openly advocate for defunding the police will cause a dramatic increase in crime, just like we see in large Democrat-run cities. That is why we need to re-elect Sheriff Bill Waybourn. He is strong on crime and will keep Tarrant County safe for our families,” Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French previously told The Dallas Express.