Tensions have been brewing at the Bexar County Jail, stemming from an ongoing staffing crisis that is burdening deputies with excessive mandatory overtime. According to Fox San Antonio, the issue traces back over 15 years when the Jail Standards Commission updated inmate monitoring methods, demanding constant observation by fewer detention officers due to previous buyouts of deputy positions. "The supervisors are the bad guys. We've had lieutenants just quit crying because they're so frustrated," a retired deputy told Fox San Antonio.
With morale at an all-time low and resignations on the rise, Commissioners Tommy Calvert and Grant Moody have been pushing since January for an agenda item addressing the restitution of nearly a million dollars in unpaid mandatory overtime. Despite their legal right to have items discussed publicly, their efforts have been seemingly stonewalled. Moody stressed the need for fairness, "those detention deputies deserve the time they've earned. And when they can't take that time because of the situation, at the jail on the fact that they're... doing mandatory forced overtime, then, you know, I feel we have an obligation, out of fairness to make sure that they keep that time," he said in an interview with Fox San Antonio.
In a related development, the Bexar County District Attorney's office is facing its own shift in personnel. Sean McCleskey, the chief criminal investigator for the DA’s office, has announced his resignation, effective last Friday. McCleskey's background includes time as a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a retired special agent with the United States Secret Service. There has been no official comment on the reasons for his departure from the District Attorney Joe Gonzales's team. A call for comment from McCleskey himself was not returned, according to KSAT.
The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas or CLEAT, representing law enforcement officers across the state, has entered the fray, sending a letter to Judge Sakai expressing concern over the exclusion of crucial agenda items. "It has come to our attention that certain agenda items requested to be included on the Bexar County Commissioners Court agenda are being selectively excluded or removed," a portion of the letter warned. The push by authorities and organizations to resolve the accruing stress and administrative issues within the Bexar Law enforcement community continues, with the hopes of restoring the balance and fairness demanded by the situation's gravity.
