Sheriff Salazar Doesn’t Believe in Our Justice System
Bexar County Civilian Arrested
We have seen Sheriff Javier Salazar make knee-jerk decisions over and over again. He jumps on something that he thinks will make him look good without considering the ramifications then ends up looking like a hypocrite or a fool further down the line. I believe he did that again today.
A Bexar County civilian, Andrew Joel Ramos, was arrested by SAPD for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Mr. Ramos had been arrested in 2014 for robbery but the case had been dismissed due to insufficient evidence. Salazar has been desperately trying to show the public that he is a good sheriff and has been jumping on any story that he thinks can be turned to his advantage.
Blaming the Previous Administration
In Mr. Ramos’ case, he had one of his favorite excuses, blaming the previous administration. According to Salazar, “Mr. Ramos’ violent arrest history shows he should have never been hired in the first place. This is why I changed our hiring standards, and they will stay where they are.” You can read the KSAT article here.
Guilt by Decree
Sheriff Salazar doesn’t appear to believe in innocent until proven guilty. That’s an unbelievably bad position for the head of a law enforcement agency to take. The case against Mr. Ramos was DISMISSED. You would think the head of a law enforcement agency would know that the fact that a person got arrested does not mean the person is guilty of the crime. Yet, according to Salazar, the arrest should haunt Mr. Ramos for the rest of his life. This attitude makes me very concerned for the inmates housed in the Bexar County jail.
Salazar’s attitude places what law enforcement officers do above the decisions of the judicial system. Law enforcement was never designed to be judge and jury. This website has posted many videos showing officers as the aggressors then accusing individuals of assaulting them or resisting arrest. We just posted an article, with a video, yesterday that showed the results of a beating that deputies gave an inmate. That inmate was then charged with five counts of battery on a custodial officer. The D.A. dropped the charges, but by Salazar’s standards, Mr. Servin should never be able to get a job because he has a violent arrest history.
Then there are his own officers. I would hope that he realizes he has several officers who have been charged with a crime but have been found innocent. Is he going to fire them? Deputy Gabriel Pena was just recently arrested for family violence. His case was rejected. I know that Salazar put him on administrative leave while they investigate him but why not just fire him? It’s a violent crime. The reality is the Sheriff never should have put Deputy Pena on administrative leave. Sheriff Javier Salazar has turned himself into a king who decrees a person’s guilt and to hell with anything that doesn’t match up with how he wants the situation to be.
Pettiness Unbecoming in a Leader
Sheriff Salazar is supposed to be a leader. He’s over a law enforcement agency that polices a county with one of the highest populations in Texas. You would think a man in that position would act with decorum and dignity. You would think he would set the example of how an upstanding individual should present himself. Instead he made this statement, “I’m happy to accept Mr. Ramos’ resignation. Good riddance. I hope the victim in this case makes a full recovery.”
Good riddance? Really? What a petty, childish thing to say. There was no need for that. He shouldn’t even have said he was happy to accept his resignation. He could have just said he accepted the resignation and then wished the victim a full recovery but instead he had to take cheap shots that showed his lack of maturity and how unfit he is for a leadership position. What an embarrassment.
Abraham Lincoln said it best, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”