Fort Worth police didn’t investigate Tarrant jail deaths. State says there are no consequences

This is not a loophole, but a misinterpretation of the Sandra Bland Act, according to Michele Deitch. She helped craft the law and is director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at UT Austin.

Sheriff’s offices are not supposed to choose who investigates in-custody deaths, according to Deitch, who said the law actually gives that responsibility to Wood’s jail standards commission.

“The whole idea is to ensure independence in the investigation,” she said. “And if an agency is picking who’s going to investigate them, that’s no more trustworthy than investigating themselves.”