FORT WORTH, Texas — The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office has updated its use-of-force policy to include detailed instructions about the use of chemical spray and what to do to avoid positional asphyxia, in the wake of recent deaths at the county jail.
The updated policy, which went into effect Tuesday, also tells sworn employees to take into account a person's age and size in comparison to the employee.
WFAA obtained a copy of the policy from a source.
The new policy comes amid fallout from the April death of Tarrant County prisoner Anthony Johnson who died from positional and chemical asphyxia after he was pepper sprayed and a knee put on his back. Two jailers have been fired and charged with murder. The incident with Johnson began after he refused to come out of his cell while jailers were checking for contraband. Jailers struggled with Johnson on the second floor and at times appeared at risk of themselves or Johnson falling over the railing.
Back in May, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said a fired jailer used a “technique we do not use nor condone” when he put a knee in Johnsons’ back after he was restrained. He said a supervisor was fired for letting it happen.
In a statement, the Sheriff’s Office said for the last three years, the office “has been developing and revising policies and moving forward with the implementation of a new general order to supplement current standard operating procedures.”
“The Response to Resistance Policy is one of those policies updated and recently approved,” the sheriff’s office said.
The updated policy applies to the entire sheriff’s department including patrol.
Daryl Washington, an attorney representing Johnson’s family, said he believes the new policy is the direct result of what happened in Johnson’s case. He questioned why it took so long for the sheriff’s office to update its policies on the use of force.
“This was the one case that really exposed that there is a true problem that is taking place at the Tarrant County Jail,” Washington said. “As a result of that, what we now see is that they're trying to get ahead of the situation.”
Experts who reviewed those policies said they were lacking in detail and specifics.
A month ago in response to questions about those policies, the sheriff’s office told WFAA in a statement: “Policies are reviewed as needed. The techniques for use of force have not changed in recent years so the policy remains in place.”
The updated policy also contains a "duty to intervene" requirement, which states that all employees "have the duty and responsibility to intervene and shall take appropriate action when observing a law enforcement officer or a Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office employee using force that violates departmental policy and training regarding what is objectively reasonable under the circumstances."
The employee is required to report it to a supervisor in writing.
"That clearly is a response to when there’s multiple deputies present and no one does anything," said Miltonette Craig, a criminal justice at Sam Houston State University who has studied use of force policies.
The new policy contains new rules about the use of chemical spray, more commonly known as pepper spray.
“Chemical spray shall never be used as a punitive measure,” the policy says. “Sworn employees should never spray from a pressurized can directly into a subject’s eyes from a close distance due to the potential for eye injury as a result of the pressurized stream. Sworn employees should never spray directly into a subject’s eyes from closer than three feet or the distance recommended by the manufacturer of the spray (whichever is shorter) unless deadly force would be justified.”
It further says that sworn employees shall “consider alternatives to chemical spray when attempting to control a subject in a crowded-enclosed area due to the innocent over-spray that may cause the onset of panic.”
The updated policy also included new guidance on "post-restraint" scenarios.
"Sworn employees restraining a subject should be cognizant of and avoid positional asphyxia," the new policy states. "This agency prohibits prolonged face-down prone restraint. As soon as practicable after the subject stops resisting, place the subject in the recovery position on their side or seated upright to monitor the subject’s condition. If the subject has difficulty breathing, exhibits other obvious signs of medical distress identifiable by any layperson, or requests medical assistance, sworn employees of this agency shall request medical assistance and provide safe access to the injured person for emergency medical services as soon as safe and practical, and should render aid when safe to do so in accordance with their training."
Jay Coons, a criminal justice professor at Sam Houston State University and a former Harris County Sheriff’s Office jail commander, told WFAA that the new policy goes into a lot more detail about how the department wants its officers to approach the use of force situations.
“The new policy seems pretty much right in line with modern policies as far as use of force and police procedures,” he said. “It’s giving more definition as to when a particular device can be used and under what circumstances. They’re asking their deputies to be much more observant and conduct much more evaluation as opposed to simply laying out in an older policy here are your options go forth and do well.”
Coons said the new policy reflects the concept that the department wants officers to slow situations down whenever possible.
“The concept is called expanding time,” he said. “We want the officers to be much more evaluative of the entire scene.”
The updated policy contains a use a "use-of-force philosophy statement," which states: "A reverence and respect for the dignity of all persons and the sanctity of human life shall guide all training, leadership, and procedures, as well as guide sworn employees in the use of force,"
Craig says the statement was a noticeable change.
"It’s nice that it's there, but I don’t know it got there organically," Craig said. "It seems that is there to make this policy seem like this is something that is going to change behavior. While policy is important, it's enforcement of the policy that is going to save lives."
She also said that the department will need to train its employees on the new policy.
The policy also contains a section called "sworn employee conduct." It says sworn employees should maintain a calm, nonthreatening appearance, should avoid yelling or profanity and avoiding invading a person's personal space unless its to protect someone.
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