Two Tarrant County jailers fired in connection with the death of Anthony Johnson Jr.

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

Two Tarrant County jailers were fired this week in connection to the death of Anthony Johnson Jr.

Johnson, a 31-year-old Marine veteran, died April 21 following an altercation with detention officers at the Tarrant County Jail during which he was pepper-sprayed by jailers, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

One of the jailers involved in the case was fired Thursday morning by Sheriff Bill Waybourn, and a supervisor was fired on Wednesday, according to their attorneys.

The names of the fired employees have not been released.

Jane Bishkin, an attorney with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas who represents the employee fired Thursday, told WFAA that the termination letter did not give a reason for the officer’s firing, and she plans to appeal.

Waybourn “did not give a reason for the termination, but of course we disagree,” Bishkin said. “We don’t believe any of our members violated departmental policies or contributed to the inmate’s death in any way.”

“We feel that the sheriff’s actions are premature as the medical examiner’s’ report has not been released. Therefore, we don’t know the cause of death,” Bishkin said. “We believe the sheriff’s actions are a response to the heightened public interest in this case.”

🚨 More top stories from our newsroom:

→ 18-year-old pilot killed in small plane crash in Johnson County

→ Attorneys reach deal on new charges for Timberview school shooter

→ Southlake Carroll says feds didn’t provide facts on civil rights complaints

[Get our breaking news alerts.]

Randy Moore, the lawyer who represents the supervisor, said his client gave a voluntary statement to the Texas Ranger who is leading the criminal investigation and then was fired without explanation when he went to a meeting with internal affairs, WFAA reported.

Moore also called his client’s firing premature because the investigation is incomplete and Johnson’s cause of death is unknown. “This termination is clearly an attempt on the Sheriff’s part to avoid accountability and shift responsibility to line staff,” Moore told WFAA. “We will be appealing. The one thing in common on all these deaths is the leadership. Firing the rank and file obviously has not solved the problem.”

The Star-Telegram has requested video of what happened leading to Johnson’s death. The Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety, which includes the Texas Rangers, will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. Thursday but have not said whether the video will be released then. Watch the news conference live at star-telegram.com.

Autopsy results are still pending, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website.

On Monday an attorney for Johnson’s family, Daryl Washington, told the Star-Telegram that the family still hadn’t heard anything from the Texas Rangers, who are investigating his death. Washington has said Johnson’s body had bruises that suggested force was used.

The Sheriff’s Office has said the altercation occurred when Johnson refused to come out of his cell during a routine check for contraband.

Johnson was arrested in Saginaw on April 19 amid a schizophrenic episode. His family told the Star-Telegram they tried to take him to a mental health hospital but were told he wasn’t violent enough to admit.

Anthony Johnson Jr.’s family demanded transparency from Tarrant County and its Sheriff’s Office in front of a packed meeting room on May 7.

“You can’t see my pain right now, but I can make sure y’all turn colors and see pain,” Anthony Johnson’s sister Janell Johnson told county commissioners.

Before allowing public comments, the commissioners listened to county administrator Chandler Merritt — who does not work for the Sheriff’s Office — read statements that had previously been released to the media about Anthony Johnson’s death in custody of the county jail.

Sheriff Waybourn, who is regularly in attendance at commissioners court meetings, was not present, nor was any representative of his office.

On their way out of the meeting room and following her and her two daughters’ public comments, Johnson’s mother, Jacqualyne, told commissioners, “We want that tape.”

Washington has also called for the release of the video.

“If it’s too much pressure for the sheriff to expose wrongdoing ... he needs to resign,” Washington told the Star-Telegram on May 8. “They’re going to try to keep it from coming out for a long time. It’s going to be damning. You’re going to see someone who didn’t want to die.”

County Commissioner Alisa Simmons asked for the video to be shown during the closed session of commissioners court. Her request was denied.

On May 9, County Commissioner Manny Ramirez called for transparency from the Sheriff’s Office.

“After observing the response to several recent critical incidents, including the most recent death in custody of Mr. Anthony Johnson, it has become apparent that we are not doing enough to share information with the public,” Ramirez said in a statement last week.

While the statement from Ramirez — former president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association — stopped short of calling for the video’s release, it does lay out plans to set schedules for when videos are released, news conferences are held, news releases are disseminated and next-of-kin are updated.

The Texas Rangers have not responded to multiple requests for comment.