SCORE Deputies Score Big
KSAT 12 published an article on three Bexar County deputies who were paid a combined $71,535.33 in overtime during 2017. That’s just three deputies. These deputies were on one of the Sheriff’s many special project teams. In this case the team was SCORE (Sheriff’s Community Oriented Resource and Education).
Not only is Sheriff Salazar treating public funds as a bottomless piggy bank while trying to improve his image in the community but he’s treating the citizens of Bexar County as if we are ignorant. What do those officers do to earn that much in overtime? Look at the name, Resource and Education. They hang out at HOA meetings and go talk at schools. Remember, this is the same agency that keeps complaining about how understaffed they are. If overtime is going to be paid then it should be for policing efforts, not for actions designed to try to improve the Sheriff’s public image.
Salazar tries to con us into believing that the SCORE officers are doing some major policing because they helped to roust some homeless people. Then he tries to get us to believe that they stopped a human trafficking ring. Were they working on their own? How did they happen across that? Did someone try to sell a child to one of them? No. If you read the article you will see that “covert operations personnel” were involved. They were the ones that busted the trafficking ring. The SCORE officers probably provided some support but I seriously doubt they were major players. The officers who did the real investigative work should not have credit stolen from them just because Sheriff Salazar is trying to hide his irresponsible use of public tax dollars.
We aren’t faulting the deputies who did the work, which is why we are not printing their names. They did what the Sheriff wanted them to do and they deserve to be paid for the work they did. We are faulting the Sheriff. His poor decisions and his lack of fiscal responsibility are not only an embarrassment to Bexar County but they also jeopardize the safety of the public by not having sufficient staff where it is needed.