KERA News: Tarrant County hires a new chief to run the county jail amid lawsuits, outcry over deaths

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office has hired a new jail administrator, the person in charge of day-to-day operations in the local jail system, according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS).

Shannon Herklotz was most recently a chief deputy of detention services at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, according to his LinkedIn page. Before that, he ran the Harris County Jail. He spent the longest stretch of his career — more than 20 years — at TCJS, the state agency that inspects jails. 

Herklotz is now taking over management of a jail that’s been under scrutiny for years, over deaths behind bars and alleged mistreatment of incarcerated people. 

Krish Gundu, cofounder of the advocacy organization Texas Jail Project, hopes Herklotz will get proper independent investigations into jail deaths, she told KERA.

The number of deaths in Tarrant County Jail custody spiked under Sheriff Bill Waybourn, who took office in 2017. Almost 70 people have died in county custody since then, as well as a baby who died 10 days after her mother gave birth unattended in her cell. Since 2022, the county has paid out more than $4.3 million in lawsuits alleging abuse of prisoners and medical neglect.