The FBI is reviewing two deaths that occurred inside the Texas’ Harris County Jail, the sheriff confirmed Monday.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who requested the interview, said he reached out to the FBI’s Houston Field Office because he wants "our community to fully trust our commitment to transparency and full accountability."
"I look forward to learning the FBI’s findings, because we must all know the full truth if we are to improve our operation and make the jail as safe as possible for everyone entrusted into our care," Gonzales said in a statement.
The FBI review concerns the deaths of Jaquaree Simmons in February 2021 and Jacoby Pillow in January 2023.
An internal sheriff’s investigation into Simmons death uncovered multiple policy violations by staff that resulted in Sheriff Gonzalez terminating 11 employees and six others in May 2021.
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A Houston Police Department criminal investigation into Simmons’ death led to the recent indictment of former detention officer Eric Niles Morales on a manslaughter charge.
Pillow, 31, was being released from jail last month when he was accused of assaulting a detention officer. Jail staff used force to restrain Pillow in an effort to gain control of him, the sheriff’s office said.
Pillow was later found unresponsive in his cell and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. His death is being investigated by the Houston Police Department.
FBI Houston said it has opened an investigation into allegations of federal rights violations surrounding the jail deaths of Simmons and Pillow.
"These investigations will be fair, thorough, and impartial, and will proceed independently of any state investigations involving incidents at the jail," FBI Houston said. "To preserve the integrity and capabilities of the investigations, no details of the ongoing process will be publicly shared."
