NBC 5 has learned that the man in charge of daily operations at the Tarrant County Jail has resigned.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Executive Chief Deputy Charles Eckert has retired after 32 years with the agency.
In a statement announcing the move, Tarrant County Commissioner for Precinct 2 Alisa Simmons called Eckert’s departure “a significant but necessary first step in addressing the alarming rise in jail deaths in the Tarrant County Jail.”
“I just don’t think one’s life should be at risk just because they are accused of breaking the law,” Simmons said.
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65 inmates have died in custody at the Tarrant jail since 2017, the third-most in the state during that time.
Six of those deaths have come this year, including 31-year-old US Marine Corps veteran Anthony Johnson.
Johnson died on April 21 after a video shared by the sheriff’s office showed a jailer placing a knee on his back while restraining him during a confrontation.
That jailer and a supervisor were temporarily fired, then reinstated and placed on leave while the Texas Rangers investigated the circumstances surrounding Johnson’s death.
Johnson’s family has called on Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn to resign after the incident.
Simmons called for a federal investigation into the jail by the US Department of Justice, telling NBC 5 that she believes her request has been progressing.
“I am not afraid to have an independent authority come in and take a look and tell us what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong,” Simmons said.
The latest death among Tarrant inmates came on May 27.
Investigators said 35-year-old Chasity Bonner died after suffering a medical emergency.
The sheriff’s office said Bonner initially asked for medical treatment, then refused additional care and went back to her cell.
They said staff tried to provide lifesaving measures, including Narcan, but she ultimately died at the hospital.
Bonner’s cause of death is under investigation. Simmons said she had requested a briefing on Bonner’s death from the sheriff at Tuesday’s Tarrant County Board of Commissioners meeting.
“What transpired there?” Simmons asked. “And how did we get to pain, and then death, very quickly.”
NBC 5 contacted the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office to ask if recent concerns over inmate deaths influenced Eckert’s decision to retire.
“He retired very honorably, and we were blessed to have had him serve TCSO for 32 stellar years,” a TCSO spokesperson said in response. “He just won administrator of the year in Texas and has many other positive accomplishments during his tenure.”
“He will be missed, and we wish him the absolute best in his retirement,” the statement continued. “Anyone who would speak negatively about Chief Eckert’s service is clearly misinformed or being divisive.”
