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Tarrant County Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons held a press conference outside the John Peter Smith Hospital on June 19, 2026 calling for an outside investigation of county jail inmate Mack Greer\u2019s death, which had happened about 24 hours prior.<\/p>\n
Rachel Royster<\/p>\n
rroyster@star-telegram.com<\/p>\n
Now that independent investigators found no wrongdoing on the part of the Tarrant County Jail for inmate Mack Greer\u2019s in-custody death, Sheriff Bill Waybourn is calling out Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons for spreading false information about the circumstances.<\/p>\n
Greer, 49, was pronounced dead at 2:42 p.m. on June 17 in John Peter Smith Hospital. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled the death was of complications from a rare brain disease<\/a> called moyamoya disease. The condition causes the carotid artery inside the skull to narrow or close, depriving the brain of oxygen.<\/p>\n Within 24 hours of the death, Simmons held a press conference with the family to demand an outside investigation. Greer\u2019s was the third death in a one-week period<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before he died, Simmons said she saw him in the hospital with a \u201cmisshapen head\u201d and bruises in multiple places. She told the media the day after he died that \u201che suffered fatal head injuries,\u201d which Waybourn said was incorrect.<\/p>\n In an interview with the Star-Telegram Tuesday, Waybourn said the sheriff\u2019s office and the commissioner\u2019s office had had \u201cabsolutely zero contact.\u201d<\/p>\n Waybourn said Simmons \u201cwas so irresponsible\u201d for having a press conference announcing unverified information.<\/p>\n Simmons did not respond to an interview request from the Star-Telegram, but explained at a press conference later on Tuesday to Waybourn\u2019s statement that she\u2019d lied by saying families whose loved ones die in the jail reach out to her because the sheriff\u2019s office is so unresponsive.<\/p>\n \u201cI work with them to try and get them the answers that they need about their loved one\u2019s death,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cThat really is the job of the sheriff\u2019s office, where that person lost their lives. That\u2019s really the job of the county hospital and MHMR, who had the responsibility of taking care of them medically and behaviorally while they were in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n Simmons, the Democratic nominee for Tarrant County judge on the Nov. 3 ballot, said there have been way too many deaths in the county jail, and she plans to investigate if elected.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not going to leave families out here with unanswered questions and without access to the elected officials they put in these seats,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n If Simmons is elected to the county judge seat, Waybourn said he would be concerned about the relationship between the commissioners court and his office. He said he\u2019d navigate it \u201cwith a lot of prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest concern is she\u2019s voted against law enforcement just about at every turn,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, she voted against us having bulletproof vests. She\u2019s voted against armor. She voted against a police academy. Even though people say you always need more training. I\u2019m not going to give you an academy. She voted against that.\u201d<\/p>\n Simmons negated being anti-law enforcement at the press conference Tuesday, citing her 21 years in public safety before becoming the Precinct 2 commissioner.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve worked in 911 from a call taker to an administrator for 21 years,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cSo that is my response to that.\u201d<\/p>\n The two disagree on how many deaths have happened in custody of the Tarrant County Jail this year. Waybourn says 7, while Simmons says 8.<\/p>\n This story was originally published October 20, 2026 at 9:54 PM.<\/p>\n
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