Tarrant County (Texas) escape attempt today

[Transporter]

Just saw on Dallas area news tonight where three inmates in the Tarrant County Jail overpowered a guard by using some type of homemade weapon. It caused some injury to the guard to the point they had to be hospitalized. The three (including one guy in on a Cap Murder charge) were unsuccessful in their attempt to escape. The news said they were being moved to a rec yard.

I just wondered if any Tarrant County folks were members here. I believe I have seen a few.

If there are any here, I just want to see how the guard is doing and find out what went so wrong.

For the rest of ya, I'll try to find a link to the story.

[JMTX]

The incident is the subject of an on-going investigation, and we all know what that means.

I should hope any of my fellow officers would be smart enough not to discuss the matter on a public forum.

I know you mean well, but people could get in trouble for talking about it.

Edited to add: We aren't guards. We are TCLEOSE certified JAILERS.

[SPC-1]

Just keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

[JMTX]

Ditto.....

[midnight_v]

Yeah well...

I'll say this, the article on the front page is a good example of why you can't trust the media.
So is this thread.
Cops can't/won't talk about it, for fear embarassing the organization (of losing thier jobs really), while the polititians get on t.v. and play damage control.
Which means they get on t.v. giving misinformation and lying about the severity of events. . .

Even at that is "someone" wanted to talk about it it, they wouldn't be in any trouble unless someone "online" who knows thier identity in real life turns them in. Which really is possible what with the way we run our community people from this county all know each other...

Now if "someone" in the know came and posted what really happened from another account from a foreign i.p. address. (wisely not your home but perhaps a non-leo friends house or what have you. . .) then perhaps
The information could get leaked. . . and opened as a discussion for non-county employees, so that they could hear a separate version of the events aside from the one that was force-fed to the media in the name of "PR".

Of course the ethics involved in such a course are questionable at best... and assuredly beneath the station those who work in that fine county, what with the emphasis always being on, Honor, Courage, and ...integrity.

- But I digress.

[JMTX]

*edited at the request of a friend*

[Original Sin]

It's still quite early in the investigation, and more information will be released eventually. The question I wonder though, is what information will be released? Damage control has already begun, and undoubtedly began within minutes following the assault.

One of the consequences of being privy to inside information is that you will often hear/see conflicting stories. Now, which one do you believe? The one that is given to the public at large, or the one you hear from those that were present and witnessed the incident and what resulted (i.e. the victims).

Our industry has become rife with paranoia. There is more fear that a criminal will sue the city/county than with providing the officers with the proper means to protect themselves from individuals that have proven to be violent and assaultive. If an individual commits an act that requires another person to defend themself for fear of imminent bodily injury or possible death, and as a result the violent criminal receives permanent injury or even dies, then the victim of that assault will likely lose their job, be sued by the criminal or the criminals family, and lose everything they have worked their whole life for. If the criminal in turn causes permanent injury to an officer, he may be charged with assualt on a public servant. If that criminal is already facing a life sentence, what the hell does another charge matter? And if the criminal actually kills the officer, it will be plead down to simple manslaughter, with just another 15-20 years tacked onto an already present life sentence. With all due respect to the industry and to our legal society, where really is the justice in that?!

I know my opinion on this matter is not popular among civil rights advocates, I also know that there are a vast number of likeminded persons that believe in "an eye for an eye" justice. It's just a shame that so many are so blind to so much.

[JMTX]

*edited*....

[midnight_v]

Well, I'll tell you one thing...when I was lying in a hospital bed for 3 hours with second degree burns and no pain medicine, I sure didn't give a flying rat's butt about ANYBODY's civil rights. To this day, I can't hear the phrase, "inmates are humans too" with out wanting to puke. Tell that to someone who DOESN'T have scars on her face and chest that will probably never go away.

The problem is the people that make our laws don't work in our shoes. Hell, the people who write our policies don't even work in our shoes. What would they know?

Of course when something happens, they all "care". Care my foot. If you cared, you'd have taken the god-danged stingers away BEFORE I got burned. But no, they didn't even take them away afterwards.

The fact of the matter is that as long as the inmates have stingers and get to stay up all night and get to buy ice cream and sodas every day and watch cable tv all day on the tax payer's dollars, and as long as the officers live in fear of being written up every time they look crossways at an inmate, CRAP is going to happen.

And it's going to get worse before it gets better.

The dualality of you ... its boggling sometimes chere'

[JMTX]

LOL...Duality....You're going to have to explain that one in a PM.

However, for the time being allow me to quote RubyRose's signature which is from Walt Whitman.

Do I contradict myself? Very well, I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes.

[Borntexan]

You are reading this thread for many reasons – fear, humbleness, disbelieve, curiosity…
Keep in your mind my co-workers could have been you, your brother, your son, your wife…
Would you choose to give hope, strength, and support to those involved?
Or would you turn this into a brawl of who, what, when, where, and how?

Patience is not a virtue when fueling presumption.

Have patience – give support – pray.

Please JMTX vent in a new thread.

[SPC-1]

+1BAN JMTX-BAN JMTX-BAN JMTX

[JMTX]

*edited*....

[Transporter]

wow! Lots or response before I even got a chance to get back online.
As a TCLEOSE certified Jailer myself, I can truly understand the need to vent frustration over something like this. It P***** me off too. I saw the smug look on the POS inmate who is in for Cap Murder. What a turd. Perhaps an unmonitored rec yard with cameras on the fritz?

I know "that is not allowed."

Well...neither is trying to kill an officer!

They should all be eating through a straw at the very least!

The kicker of it all is: We do it for less pay than Deputies (at least in my county) and are treated like crap by those same deputies.

My prayers are there for the Jailers and the other personnel involved.

[TexasAggieOfc]

First, my prayers are with the Officers of TCSO, as well as the TC maintenace staff. I wish them the best, and hope for a speedy recovery.

Well, maybe if the people of Tarrant County would elect a Sheriff with a pair of testicles still attached to him (or even surgically attached, ala Lupe Valdez), then maybe the officers will get control of it. But as long as the limp wristed administration of TCCC and Belknap continues (and probably Greenbay and Cold Springs, but I'm not familiar with them), this incident, incidents such as JMTXs, and others will continue to occur.

I completely understand that we have "Jail Standards", but why is officer safety continually sacrificed? So Dee-Dee can stand up in front of NBC5's cameras (which he's oh-so-good-at) and go "Look at me! Look at me! We passed and Lew Sterret didn't. Nah-nah-nah-boo-boo!"

Of course when something happens, they all "care". Care my foot. If you cared, you'd have taken the god-danged stingers away BEFORE I got burned. But no, they didn't even take them away afterwards.

They took them away for a short time after the 59C incident where an inmate was burned with hair gel that had been heated with a stinger, I was told they were taken away a short time after your incident, and at Belknap, they were taken out of the rotation tanks for a while. BUT.... The BELK Capt, and certain people who wear stars decided that it was infringing on an inmate's rights to not allow them to have the stingers.

They didn't think about the inmate who was seriously burned rights.

They didn't think about the Belknap officers rights to conduct tank checks safely

They didn't care about JMTX's right to not be assaulted

They didn't care about the gym officers and the maintenance workers rights to not be shanked.

Now, no doubt, some will call for me to be banned, and I have no doubt I will receive e-mails threatening my career from those who are the target of this post. But remember this:

The officers and first line supervisors of the TCSO embody the values imprinted on their chest patch. Honor, Integrity, Courage.

Those with the double bars all the way to the three stars will risk your lives in the names of 'progress' and re-election.

Sincerely,
Former TCSO Corporal
September 2006-April 2008