Two former Tarrant County detention officers, 34-year-old Anthony Avalos and 38-year-old Osiris Longo, were arrested on suspicion of official oppression and assault causing bodily injury after allegedly using force against an inmate inside the Tarrant County Jail in July. Both were booked and released on bond, and court records do not list defense attorneys for either man.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, court records show both officers were arrested on September 3, with the underlying incident alleged to have occurred the previous month. The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office opened an investigation into the matter, and Longo resigned before that probe concluded, while Avalos was terminated once it wrapped up, the paper reports. The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office has not filed charges in the case, and authorities have not released further details about what allegedly happened.
Sheriff Bill Waybourn said the officers' alleged actions were contrary to the values and professional standards expected of every Tarrant County Sheriff's Office employee, according to the same report. The office has said it bears a duty to ensure the safety, security, and constitutional rights of everyone in its custody, and that it will hold accountable any employee who violates that duty. The investigation remains ongoing, and the precise nature of the force used, along with whether video footage exists, has not been disclosed.
A Jail Already Under a Microscope
That case fits into a broader mortality trend at the jail. In April 2024, 31-year-old Marine veteran Anthony Johnson Jr. died in custody after a detention officer kneeled on his back for more than a minute, a case the medical examiner ruled a homicide by mechanical and chemical asphyxia, according to KERA News. Two former detention officers were indicted on murder charges in connection with Johnson's death.
That case fits into a broader mortality trend at the jail. Between 2017 and mid-2026, more than 70 in-custody deaths occurred at the facility during Sheriff Waybourn's tenure, averaging nearly 10 deaths a year compared with roughly one death annually from 2016 to 2018, per Prison Legal News. The report also describes protests outside the jail and public attendance at Commissioners Court meetings.
Staffing Strains and Past Dismissals
The jail has also struggled with chronic staffing shortages. Tarrant County paid roughly $2.3 million in payments for staffing services and invoices from January through June under its jail recruitment contract with Recana Recruiting and Staffing Solutions, which the county terminated early after the firm hired only 34 detention officers despite persistent vacancies, as Hoodline previously reported. County commissioners had approved that contract in late 2025 specifically to curb jailer vacancies and reduce overtime costs.
In April 2026, Magnolia Mayor Matthew Dantzer was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on a Class A misdemeanor charge of official oppression along with a felony assault charge, following a Texas Rangers investigation into an incident in Fort Worth, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Under Texas Penal Code Section 39.03, official oppression is generally classified as a Class A misdemeanor, carrying a maximum of one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000, according to legal analysis from Saputo Toufexis. The statute applies when a public servant acting under official authority intentionally mistreats or unlawfully detains someone.
Training Standards and Federal Review
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has certified the Tarrant County Detention Bureau as passing its annual inspections every year since 1995.
A November 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Corrections, requested by Sheriff Waybourn amid public controversy over jail operations, described the facility as solid while noting it processes roughly 41,000 inmate bookings annually, per Community Impact. For now, the Avalos and Longo case remains under investigation, with no indictment yet filed and no public detail on what triggered the alleged use of force in July.
