Jail Processes Collapsing Under the Weight of Salazar’s Incompetence



Sheriff Salazar Calls a Press Conference
Sheriff Salazar on Continuing Jail Problems

Salazar Administration Tries to Con the Public

KSAT 12 posted an article that highlights the extreme situation at the Bexar County Jail. We know there is a lot to pick from but in this case the topic was about the huge number of erroneous releases the jail has had and why this is occurring. From January 2019 to the end of October, a 10-month period, the Bexar County Jail has erroneously released 16 inmates.

On October 31, when Sheriff Salazar introduced his new detention chief, Jaime Rios, Chief Rios said the following in regards to the issue:

“Same problems you’re going to have here, you will have in Harris County, you will have in Tarrant County, you have in Travis. You’re going to have the same issues, the same problems.”

Is anyone surprised to learn this statement, by someone Javier Salazar thinks is qualified, is false?

KSAT Outs Lies by Salazar Administration

Dillon Collier, with KSAT 12 Defenders, must have laughed himself silly over this since it was happening while he was in Austin asking administrators at the Travis County Jail about their erroneous release rate. The title of Dillon’s article tells you everything you need to know. The Travis County Jail averages fewer than 2 erroneous releases a year. Bexar County had 2 in 13 hours.” 

The truth is, this is no laughing matter. We’ve been lucky so far that someone who should have been in jail, but instead was erroneously released, hasn’t hurt or even killed a person. That luck is not going to last forever. (We highly recommend that you watch the video and read the article KSAT put out. Link is above).

The Blame Rests on Salazar’s Shoulders

As usual, Sheriff Salazar came up with all kinds of reasons why this happening, none of which had anything to do with him but he is the main problem. He is not capable of running an organization of this size. We doubt he should ever be placed over anyone. Sheriff Salazar is a follower, not a leader.

These kinds of mistakes didn’t happen at this level under other sheriffs. They told KSAT that the jail didn’t start tracking the numbers until November of 2017 so there is no record, but erroneous releases have to be reported to Jail Standards so there is a record. We think they just didn’t want that information found because it would show the sharp spike in erroneous releases since Salazar took office. But think about it people. Do you remember this kind of news before Salazar? There were some, sure, but if it had been at this level it would have been big news just like it is under Salazar.

Sheriff Salazar Knows it’s His Fault

Salazar knows his excuses are starting to fall flat. You can only go so long blaming everyone and everything under the sun before people start realizing you are the real problem. The Defenders requested an on-camera interview. Those are usually done with the interviewee having to field whatever question is asked. The interviewer doesn’t want a scripted answer, he wants the Sheriff’s true feelings and beliefs on whatever is being asked.

But this time, a spokesperson for the BCSO asked for the questions in advance. When The Defenders refused the request, the BCSO put out a statement instead. So now Salazar has resorted to hiding behind his walls and his spokesperson. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office needs real leadership, not someone cowering in a corner.

6 thoughts on “Jail Processes Collapsing Under the Weight of Salazar’s Incompetence

  1. Willie

    Well the biggest problem in some parts of Texas especially some of the counties in this area is that Sheriff’s don’t care to have anything to do with the jail which is their bread and butter which is why they will find someone no matter how qualified or lack thereof to run the jail so that they can focus on “real police work”. The other problem is that you have a generation of deputies that don’t have any pride in their work and have no business being assigned to the booking and release section in the first place.

    • Ray

      Willie I know you have all this education & I know your previous job experience, but have you ever worked in the actual jail? If These deputies don’t take pride in their work as you mentioned what are you gonna do to change that? Stop trying to fool the public you, can’t do any better.

  2. Sean

    He’s cut recruitment in a profession with a high turnover rate. He forces his team to work mandatory overtime every week, which is due to the lack of employees.

    This constant overtime leads his team to commit errors at work and outside work. Then their administration creates stricter guidelines, further causing employees to leave since the jobs already stressful enough.

  3. M. Hunt

    So, one man is responsible for ALL these issues? One man does ALL these jobs that lead to an error? Having worked the MOT, FOT/FMOT and seeing the everyday posts of my brothers and sisters still doing the work there, I gotta say… stop blaming people and start fixing it. Do you build a house with the roof or foundation first? Help the masses instead of blame A man. Find solutions that work in between election years the same as during election years. 16 people voted on the last union referendum.

    • admin

      Mr. Hunt – We never said that Sheriff Salazar did all the jobs and he was personally making the errors. We have said multiple times that his leadership is not only poor but that his ego is causing him to insert himself into areas in which he has no knowledge. As for the building a house analogy, you may feel it’s a question of whether you start with the roof or foundation first. I feel the starting point is hiring a good home construction contractor.

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