Jailer’s attorney joins those calling for release of full Anthony Johnson Jr. death video

Read the latest in our coverage of the death of Anthony Johnson Jr. and other issues in Tarrant County jail.

The attorney representing a terminated Tarrant County Jail supervisor has joined the voices calling for the release of full, unedited videos of the events leading to the April 21 death of Anthony Johnson Jr.

Randy Moore, the attorney representing Lt. Joel Garcia, said he usually tries to avoid publicizing his clients’ cases. But with the release of a partial, five-minute video Thursday at a Sheriff’s Office news conference, Moore said he hasn’t been left with a choice.

The remainder of the video, which sources have told the Star-Telegram lasts about another six minutes, would show that Garcia followed protocol and got a medical team to attend to Johnson as quickly as he could, according to Moore. Once that medical team was there, Moore said, Garcia handed over control because he is not a medic and is not qualified to give commands to medical personnel.

“The part that they have shown you and the misstatements that they have made make it easy for them to blame two people out of 20 without answering the real questions,” Moore told the Star-Telegram.

The released video — including portions from a surveillance video and a cellphone — shows a struggle between Johnson and multiple officers after the Sheriff’s Office said Johnson resisted orders to come out of his cell for a contraband check. During the struggle, Johnson — a 31-year-old Marine veteran diagnosed with schizophrenia — grabs hold of a railing outside his second-floor cell. Several officers fight to get him on the ground and handcuff him. At some point, officers used pepper spray. The video ends after an officer kneels on the back of the already-handcuffed Johnson, who can be heard saying that he can’t breathe.

Garcia, a 24-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, was fired this week along with Detention Officer Rafael Moreno, a nine-year veteran. Garcia is the supervisor who used a cellphone to record video of what happened. Moreno is the large, heavy jailer who is seen on the video putting his knee and weight on Johnson’s back for about 90 seconds before Johnson became unresponsive.

Sheriff Bill Waybourn said at the news conference Thursday that Garcia recorded the video on his phone because a GoPro camera with which incidents are supposed to be recorded was not available.

Waybourn said Garcia and Moreno were fired for breaking protocols for jailers, but Moore said he hasn’t cited those protocols. Garcia was at the scene for less than four minutes, was not the person originally in charge when he arrived and called for medical as soon as he realize Johnson was non-responsive, Moore told the Star-Telegram.

Daryl Washington, an attorney representing Johnson’s family, has previously called for the release of the full video, as has Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons.

Simmons and Washington have advocated for the release of the video for the sake of transparency, saying the public deserves to know what is happening in the Tarrant County Jail.

Washington has said people need information to hold the government accountable and that transparency would increase confidence in the Sheriff’s Office, Texas Rangers and district attorney’s handling of the investigation.

Moore’s call for the release stems from his belief that the remainder of the video will illustrate that Garcia didn’t do anything justifying his termination. He also argued that Garcia should not have been fired or named by Waybourn until the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office rules on Johnson’s cause and manner of death and the Texas Rangers have concluded their criminal investigation.