11 More Infected. Deputies Not Safe Under Sheriff Salazar
Unbelievable Incompetence Hurting Employees
Wow! We just wrote an article saying how Sheriff Salazar’s failure to initiate appropriate protective measures, proactively, has hurt the employees of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. We didn’t even make it through a 24-hour period after writing that article when KSAT posted another story about 11 more deputies testing positive for COVID-19. These are deputies who had just graduated from the academy but had not yet begun to work. We previously wrote about the whole class being placed on leave. One of the deputies became ill and the whole class was put on administrative leave as the Sheriff’s Office keeps saying, out of an “abundance of caution”. It would be great if that phrase were true and not just a con job for the public. But we’ve already seen that caution for the well-being of their employees or the inmates has never directed their actions.
In Charge of Public Safety but Doesn’t Even Protect His Own People
Sheriff Salazar is over the higher level law enforcement agency. In the law enforcement hierarchy, the county entity is above the municipal entities within it. As the sheriff, Salazar is in charge of public safety within Bexar County. Yet he can’t even make simple, common sense decisions that would help to protect his own employees, much less the inmates under his care. As we said in yesterday’s article, “Mayor Ron Nirenberg declared a Public Health Emergency on March 2, 2020.” Now granted, the A class began in mid-February. However, the KSAT article about the new deputy being sick came out on April 6. The public health emergency was declared more than a month before the Sheriff’s Office found out the initial deputy was infected. That’s beyond the incubation period. Nothing to date says the incubation period lasts up to a month.
If Sheriff Salazar had insisted that everyone, Deputies, Civilians AND Cadets wear face masks at the time the Mayor announced the virus as a public health emergency, would there be 11 deputies from that class being positive for COVID-19? If the sheriff had insisted that there be social distancing in the class, especially during any exercises and further than 6 feet since they would be breathing harder than normal, would these deputies be infected now? Can the sheriff or any of his flunky chiefs think in an anticipatory manner? That’s what is needed but as we keep seeing, it doesn’t seem that any of them have that ability.
Bad Management at the Bexar County Jail
And what about the B class? They are in training right now. Has anyone done anything to ensure their safety or is the Sheriff’s Office going to ignore them and pretend that putting the people from A class on leave was their wonderful solution and everything is all roses and sunshine now? Quite honestly, I’m writing this because I do believe they are that shortsighted. I suspect they’ll treat it as a one-off situation and not do anything further. I hope if I rake them over the coals hard enough, maybe a light bulb will begin to glow dimly above their heads and they’ll act to protect the rest of the cadets.
Nothing but Spin
On another note, it’s so offensive to have the BCSO spokesperson, Deputy Johnny Garcia, talk about proactive measures. I realize he has no choice, he’s just the latest spin doctor, but there has been absolutely nothing done proactively. EVERYTHING has been done as a reaction and even that has been knee-jerk and haphazard. Perhaps he doesn’t understand the definition of ‘proactive’. Let me help. According to Merriam-Webster, proactive means “acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes.” IN ANTICIPATION, not after the fact.
As for Salazar, for a sheriff who likes to pretend he’s some tough cowboy and likes to be seen on his horse, you would think he would understand the saying about closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. In other words Sheriff Salazar, IT’S TOO DAMN LATE to claim proactive. But you can still act to protect the rest of the cadets. Stop listening to the suck ups you prefer to surround yourself with and start listening to some people who know what the hell they’re talking about. Just a hint, none of those knowledgeable people are in chief positions.
NOTE: My apologies to my readers for the anger in this post but what Sheriff Salazar is doing to the good, hard-working employees of the Sheriff’s Office and to the inmates under his care, makes me furious. And it scares me that the Bexar County Jail could end up in the same situation as the Cook County Jail.
I have already typed it above but here goes, My son is an inmate here at the Bexar county jail and is nin need of medical help. His name is David B. Gutierrez, DOB: ##/##/####. He has two broken ribs broken by the arresting officer by put his knee on David chest. also he has a broken Knee which he needs to wear his brace. he also has picked up some kind of an infection on his body (possibly bed bugs)… needs medication for the infection also need his brace. we need help. if it cost for the attention lset me know And I will YOU WHATEVER IT IS. YOU ASKED ME TO RESEND IT
Ruben – We are not the Bexar County Jail. We are a private website that tries to help people who have to deal with the jail. Every since Salazar was elected sheriff, it has gotten progressively harder to get information. It is to the point that we can barely get answers. We used to have some contacts at the jail, but due to the terrible leadership, most have left. What I was able to find out was that at the time of your message, your son was not in the jail.