Latest news with #Waybourn
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Family of man who died in Tarrant jail demands commissioners seek sheriff's removal
The family of a man who died in the Tarrant County Jail last December sent a letter to Tarrant County commissioners on Saturday asking them to petition for a trial to remove Sheriff Bill Waybourn from his post. Mason Yancy, 31, died in the jail on Dec. 27, 2024, from what the medical examiner later ruled to be a pulmonary thromboembolism, or a blood clot in the lungs. Members of Yancy's family told the Star-Telegram that they believe the medical examiner's ruling confirmed their theory that Yancy was not given medication for his diabetes while in custody. Diabetes increases the risk for blood clots, according to the American Heart Association. Yancy's family is demanding that Tarrant County commissioners create an agenda item and hold a vote on seeking Waybourn's removal, according to a news release. The family cited a Texas local government code that creates a process via trial by a jury in which an elected official such as a sheriff can be removed in cases of incompetence or official misconduct, the statement reads. The legal process would begin with a county resident filing a petition to be reviewed by a district court judge, according to the Chapter 87 law. At a January commissioners' meeting, tensions erupted during a briefing about recent deaths in the jail, including Yancy's. A group of Second Amendment activists attended the Jan. 14 meeting to join calls for Waybourn's resignation, in an episode that ended with two arrests, the Star-Telegram previously reported. At that meeting, Yancy's brother Darren told commissioners that the fault for the jail deaths lies with Waybourn. 'The challenge we have is you've got a number of deaths under various employees since 2017 that keep occurring, and there's one man at the top, and that's Bill Waybourn,' he said. Waybourn told commissioners at that January meeting that Mason Yancy came to the jail with 'medical issues' and was seen by medical staff nine times in the four days that he was incarcerated before his death. 'He was in a cell seeing two nurses when he collapsed,' Waybourn said. 'Life saving stuff was taking place immediately, within very few seconds. … I think the takeaway is that all protocols were followed by Tarrant County Sheriff's Office personnel.' When asked by County Judge Tim O'Hare about reports that Yancy did not receive the medication he needed to survive, Waybourn said there is 'no evidence' to support those allegations. In November, Waybourn briefed commissioners on a federal report on the Tarrant County Jail and called it a 'Cadillac model of a jail.' Yancy's family also sent a letter Saturday to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, asking him to seek the removal of Brandon Wood, the executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, according to the statement. The executive director is chosen by the nine members of the commission, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, according to state law. The Sheriff's Office and the Commission on Jail Standards did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment on the family's demands. A Star-Telegram investigation found that the Commission on Jail Standards was not in compliance with the Sandra Bland Act, a 2017 state law that requires the commission to appoint independent investigators in jail death cases. Instead, sheriff's offices statewide were allowed for seven years to choose which law enforcement agencies investigated their in-custody deaths. 'The whole intent of the provision in the Sandra Bland Act was to ensure that it was an independent, unbiased, objective investigation, something that the public could trust, that policymakers could trust, that it isn't self-interested the way it would be if it's an agency investigating itself,' said Michele Deitch, the director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at UT Austin and a consultant on the bill. The commission began complying with the law almost two weeks after the Star-Telegram published its investigation. Since the passage of the law in 2017, 70 people have died in the Tarrant County Jail. 'It is the Yancy family's position that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards is not functioning properly through Wood's directive and has allowed Waybourn to remain compliant in the face of heinous deaths such as Mason Yancy, Chasity Congious' (baby), and Anthony Johnson, Jr.,' the family's statement says. Staff writer Cody Copeland contributed to this story.
CBS News
05-03-2025
- CBS News
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn's son arrested for soliciting minor and assaulting officer, police say
The adopted son of Tarrant County Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn was arrested Monday for soliciting an underage girl and assaulting and injuring a police officer who was trying to arrest him, according to the Arlington Police Department. William Waybourn, 20, was taken into custody and booked into Arlington City Jail on charges of solicitation of a person under 18, resisting arrest, and assault on a peace officer, police said. He posted bond Tuesday morning. Officers responded to a business in the 100 block of South Bowen Road around 4:45 p.m. Monday after a 911 caller reported that a juvenile girl said an unknown man had made sexually explicit comments to her and had been following her. When officers arrived and found a man matching the description nearby, he resisted arrest as they tried to put him in a police vehicle. This led to a scuffle that resulted in an officer's arm being injured, police said. "The sheriff is disappointed in the choices his son made but has taught his children there are consequences to those actions," the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. William Waybourn is one of eight adopted children, all of whom came from orphanages or abusive environments, according to the sheriff's office. "To those who are considering adoption, please do not let this situation scare you away from that noble plan," Sheriff Waybourn said. "Advocating for children through adoption can bring blessings to both you and the children. This is a speed bump in the road of our journey, and we will all come out on the other side." The sheriff's office said William Waybourn is "developmentally challenged and faces life with fetal alcohol syndrome due to drug and alcohol use by his biological mother during pregnancy. FAS can cause a range of developmental and cognitive impairments, including learning disabilities, poor motor skills, behavioral problems, and difficulties in social situations. "As many people in the community understand, young adults with such difficulties often end up in the justice system. It is a sad reality for these individuals who don't have resources to help them assimilate into society in a traditional way." According to the sheriff's office, the cases will be processed by the Arlington Police Department and submitted to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office for consideration. "While Sheriff Waybourn is a public official, his son is not. His family requests the respect of their privacy as they navigate this unfortunate situation," the sheriff's office said.
