FORT WORTH, Texas — In a striking rebuke to public oversight, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn has announced he will no longer appear before the Commissioners Court to answer questions about the growing number of deaths in county jail custody.

Waybourn’s decision, delivered by email and read aloud at Wednesday’s meeting, came in response to repeated requests from County Commissioner Alisa Simmons, a vocal critic of the sheriff’s handling of jail operations.

“The repeated lack of civility displayed by the Precinct 2 commissioner towards Tarrant County staff is both hostile and unprofessional,” Waybourn wrote. “Therefore, no one from this agency will participate in briefings requested by the Precinct 2 commissioner before this court.”

Instead, Waybourn said the sheriff’s office will continue issuing press releases on each death and directed questions to the county’s public records system.

“Where are you?”

Simmons fired back, underscoring that the briefings were never for her benefit but for the public.

“If you don’t want your staff to come down here and take questions, that’s your responsibility in the first place. I didn’t ask you to send staff, I asked you to come down here,” she said from the dais. “And where are you? Big tall guy, big hat, guns, everything — and you can’t take questions from the citizenry? Your constituents?”

The tension between Simmons and Waybourn has been mounting for months amid growing scrutiny of the jail, where more than 70 people have died since 2017, according to county records.

Deaths, lawsuits, outrage

Waybourn has repeatedly defended his administration, saying that some deaths are inevitable due to inmates arriving with pre-existing or terminal conditions. He insists that jailers who commit wrongdoing face consequences.

But several high-profile deaths have raised alarms:

• Anthony Johnson Jr., who died of asphyxiation after being pepper sprayed and restrained by jailers; two officers now await trial for his murder.
• Kimberly Phillips, who died of starvation and dehydration earlier this year.
• Charles Stephen Johnson, who died by suicide in 2025.

The county has paid more than $4.3 million in settlements tied to jail deaths and mistreatment claims, including a record $1.2 million to Chasity Congious, who gave birth alone in her cell in 2020; her baby died shortly after.

Other lawsuits have been dismissed, with judges ruling that county policies were not directly responsible for the deaths. Still, the mounting toll has fueled demands for reform.

Public trust on the line

Simmons and community advocates argue that Waybourn’s refusal to brief commissioners is not just about decorum but about accountability in a jail system plagued by tragedy.

“This isn’t about politics — it’s about lives,” one activist outside the courthouse said. “Seventy families don’t have their loved ones anymore. The sheriff owes them answers, not silence.”

For now, the public is left with press releases and lawsuits as their only windows into what’s happening inside Tarrant County Jail. Whether the sheriff’s stance will hold in the face of mounting outrage remains to be seen.