On Sunday morning, April 21st, just before 9:00 am, routine cell checks were underway at the Tarrant County Jail when an incident occurred. As detention officers approached a cell in the Tarrant County Correction Center, one inmate refused to comply with the search and began to fight the officers. Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray was used to subdue the inmate. Following the altercation, JPS medical staff examined the inmate, who became unresponsive during the assessment. CPR was immediately administered, and the inmate was rushed to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased shortly after 10:00 am.
A Tarrant County Detention Officer was also injured in the altercation but is reported to have non-life-threatening injuries. The inmate, aged 31, had been arrested by the Saginaw Police Department on Friday after an incident involving a knife and was subsequently charged with multiple offenses. He had been in custody since Saturday.
Sheriff Waybourn has requested the Texas Rangers to lead the investigation into the incident for full transparency. For further inquiries regarding the investigation, the public is directed to contact the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will release the inmate's name and cause of death once next-of-kin have been informed.
