The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office issued public notices summarizing four in‑custody deaths that occurred this year and in August, and county advocates urged strengthened, joint mortality‑review processes and better cross‑agency incident review.

The sheriff’s public releases say the latest deaths involved inmates who were hospitalized after health events or who were found unresponsive. The cases under review include a February suicide attempt that resulted in hospitalization and later death, medical complications after arrest and a fatality reported Aug. 6. The sheriff’s office said that each in‑custody death is reviewed by jail staff, the office’s criminal investigations unit and outside agencies, such as the Texas Rangers, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner and, where applicable, the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Public‑interest advocates and a representative from the local watchdog community asked the court to implement the National Institute of Corrections’ recommendation that custodial staff be allowed to participate in the mental‑health/medical critical incident review (the JPS/MHMR review) so that clinical and custody perspectives are joined in the same mortality review. Advocates also recommended a weekly clinical huddle to identify inmates with reduced food intake or other early warning signs; the advocates noted one inmate’s death was attributed to malnutrition and dehydration.

The court scheduled the sheriff’s office for a detailed briefing at its next meeting to review each case and the status of investigations. Advocates said they will press for transparent, joined review processes and for adoption of specific NIC recommendations on mortality reviews and incident huddles.

Why it matters: deaths in custody trigger legal, medical and policy review; coordinated reviews that include custodial, medical and mental‑health staff can yield systemic changes to prevent future deaths. The county said external agencies are leading criminal investigative components where required.