Family of Texas man who died after altercation with jailers wants federal investigation

By KEN MILLER
Associated Press

The family of a Texas man who died after an altercation with jailers, including one who pinned his knee to the inmate’s back, has called for a federal investigation into the practices at the jail. Anthony Johnson Jr. was a 31-year-old former Marine. He died April 21 after the altercation, which officials said began when Johnson resisted jailers’ orders during a search for contraband. Last week the Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide due to asphyxia, or suffocation. The family’s attorney said Tuesday that the death “was totally preventable.”