‘We need to do something’: Protest over jail gets Tarrant County leaders’ attention

A Tarrant County commissioner said Tuesday he was disturbed by reports of people with mental disabilities in the county’s jails, including a woman who is now in a coma after spending several days in custody.

“These issues cry out to be addressed, we will address them,” Commissioner Roy Brooks told the crowd at a public meeting, after several speakers called for investigations, policy changes and other action.

The comments came as about 15 to 20 people advocates and families protested Tuesday morning outside the building where the Commissioners Court met.

The rally was in response to Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting about deaths in the jail, allegations of procedural missteps and the case of 38-year-old Kelly Masten, who has near daily seizures that require medication and can render her unable to communicate. A family member’s call to 911 over Masten’s welfare landed her in jail, instead of a hospital. Ten days later, she was covered with large bruises and comatose.

Brooks responded to people who spoke during a public comment period of the commissioners meeting. Some of the demands from advocacy organizations include better inmate screening, jail diversion programs and using trained experts, not law enforcement, to respond to calls when someone is suffering from a mental health crisis.

“The point at which to consider the sheriff’s budget is when we consider the budgets of county departments,” Brooks said. “Questions will be asked. It disturbs me that there are so many people still in our county jail with mental and developmental disabilities. We need to do something about that.”

Outside, protesters including the statewide group Texas Jail Project called for the removal of Sheriff Bill Waybourn, jail medical staff and others.

Masten’s family joined the rally. Her father, Danny, and sister, Kristina Salinas, spoke on behalf of Masten, who is still in a coma at John Peter Smith Hospital.

Masten has the mentality of a 6-year-old. Her grandmother called 911 when Masten bit her during a seizure; the family said they thought Fort Worth police officers would take Masten to the hospital, not the jail.

“So many systems in Tarrant County let Kelly down from the moment 911 was called,” Salinas said. “As a family collectively, we never would put her in an institution, she is our family. We love her and never wanted her cared for by strangers because we hear stories like this.”

When Masten’s grandmother, Peggie Griggs, dialed 911, it was for a lack of better resources that weren’t available at the time, Salinas said. She didn’t know how else to get Masten the help needed.

“Kelly is not an aggressive person,” Salinas said. “My grandmother never intended for Kelly to be incarcerated … the officers that responded were given very detailed information concerning Kelly’s condition, her mind frame and what my grandmother needed, which was for Kelly to be taken to JPS.”

The officers told Griggs they would take Masten to the jail where she would have a medical evaluation, then Masten would be taken to John Peter Smith hospital within a few hours, she said.

Somehow, Salinas said, the jail determined that Masten was mentally competent enough to be held.

“The jail says they did everything right,” Salinas said, holding up photos of Masten’s bruised body. “If this is right, then I don’t want to know what would happen if things went wrong.”

The Sheriff’s Office said in April it was investigating what happened during the time Masten was incarcerated.

When asked for an update on the investigation on May 9, spokesperson Robbie Hoy wrote in an email, “It has been made clear she was brought in under the wrong name and date of birth. TCSO (Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office) has no control over FWPD choice to arrest or a judge’s decision to agree that probable cause existed for that arrest. John Peter Smith nurses care for inmates once they enter the jail. Ms. Masten had more than 20 interactions with that staff and two trips to JPS while in custody of TCSO.”

Salinas believes everyone failed Masten, from the officers who arrested her, to the jail that accepted her and the court-appointed attorney who didn’t immediately work to get her a bond, to JPS for not holding her when she was originally hospitalized April 13.

Representatives from the Texas Jail Project and United Fort Worth said the groups demand an independent audit of Tarrant County jail policies and procedures.

During the Commissioners Court meeting, people who signed up to speak asked again for independent investigations.

“I’m asking you all to do what we’ve been asking you to do since the pandemic,” Pamela Young said. “We’re asking this court to conduct an independent investigation into the Tarrant County Jail policies and procedures to identify policy problems and recommend policy solutions.”

During her three minutes, Sindy Mata admonished the court.

“I am filled with so much anger and sadness hearing Kelly Masten’s story,” she said. “Shame on you for not taking any action to protect the lives of people in our community.”

What are the complaints against the Tarrant County Jail?

The Star-Telegram has reported on allegations, violations and deaths at the jail in recent years. Families of people who have died in jail have complained about the difficulty in obtaining information about the circumstances of the death.

Other complaints have included jailers not checking on inmates properly, or knowing when inmates die. In 2020, a nonverbal woman gave birth to a baby in the jail without anyone knowing and later died.

State inspectors have found multiple occasions where jailers were not maintaining proper medical files on inmates. After 28-year-old Javonte Myers died of a seizure disorder in 2020, a jailer who was tasked with watching over him later said he didn’t know Myers had physical and mental health ailments. Jailers lied about checking on Myers. His body was not found for at least six hours after his death.

Asked about inmate checks, Hoy, the Sheriff’s Office spokesman, wrote in his emailed response to questions: “There are over 80,000 checks conducted per day in the Tarrant County Jail at its current population. The accusation that jailers are not checking on people is not based on factual information.”

He added that there are policies in place to maintain safety in the jail. When policy is not followed, he said, jailers are held accountable. The Star-Telegram has filed a records request for disciplinary information against jailers and is waiting for it to be fulfilled.

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