The Tarrant County Sheriff is defending his jail amid protests and calls for change from community members at Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Tuesday.The contentious meeting came after two more inmate deaths in December.

A group of conservative Second Amendment activists joined the calls for accountability in the Sheriff’s Office that progressive groups have been making for years.

During the first meeting of the year at Tarrant County Commissioner’s Court, emotions ran high as Sheriff Bill Waybourn along with other officials gave an update about recent jail deaths. Two people were arrested during the meeting after the sheriff’s office said they disrupted court proceedings.

FORT WORTH – The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office has appointed a new chief jailer to oversee a facility that has faced significant criticism for the high number of inmate deaths in recent years.

Tensions erupted Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the year’s first session of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. Sheriff’s Office court deputies detained three people for breaking decorum before and during a briefing by Sheriff Bill Waybourn and other county officials on deaths in the county jail.

A protest over conditions at the Tarrant County Jail disrupted a county commissioners meeting Tuesday, leading to the arrests of two demonstrators.