Deputy Arrested for Tampering with Government Records



On May 14th, Deputy Mishal Mathew was arrested for tampering with government records.  Mathew is accused of noting down in the written log that he had made all his checks but the deputies carry a fob around that they press up against a device in the cells that reads it.  That connection causes an electronic log to be generated and that log does not show Mathew having made his rounds.

The falsification of the written log came to light when inmate Jarnell Kimble died in his cell.  It doesn’t appear that Kimble was checked on as he should have been.  According to the MySanAntonio.com article Kimble was alert and responsive when he was taken to the hospital but died later.

Deputy Mathew is being investigated by both Internal Affairs and the Public Integrity Unit.

Sheriff Salazar is quick to look for scapegoats and while it sounds like this case might have something to it I wonder where it will really go.  What jury is going to put this deputy in jail for being lazy?  His attorney will push the fact that the inmate didn’t die in the jail, that he was alert and responsive at the jail and died in the hospital.  His attorney will ask if the Sheriff’s Office checked other deputies’ written log against the electronic log.  And if so, how far back did they go.  I find it hard to believe they won’t find someone else who did the same thing.  The attorney will want to know why the Sheriff’s Office didn’t file charges of tampering with government records against others they found who had done the same thing.

What will Sheriff Salazar’s answer be?  Or has he even thought that far in advance?  Doubtfully since so much of what he does seems to be knee-jerk reactions.  Only time will tell.

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