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19 Bexar County Sheriff's Employees Arrested In 2018

Joey Palacios
/
TPR
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar addresses the media after the arrest of Detention Deputy Joseph H. Martinez.

So far this year, 19 employees of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, including deputies and jailers, have been arrested for various incidents. Sheriff Javier Salazar says he’s disappointed with but not surprised at the situation.

The 19 offenses this year include driving while intoxicated, sexual assault, and official oppression — when an employee misuses authority.

Four arrests were in September. Jailer Tavian Gloeckler was arrested on Sept. 5 for assault and official oppression. Cpl. Kalin Kruger was arrested on Sept. 7 for DWI. Part-time jailer Aida Santos was arrested on Sept. 9 for assault. Detention Deputy Joseph H. Martinez was arrested on Sept. 13 for DWI.

Salazar delivered termination papers to Martinez and Santos. He said their employment status allowed for termination. Martinez was already on unpaid leave for previous offenses involving hazing, and Santos’ part-time status made her eligible for firing.

Salazar says a public integrity unit he started in 2017 is actively looking for other deputies or employees who have broken the law.

“Quite frankly, the reason that you’re seeing such a high number is the fact that we’re being proactive in it,” Salazar said. “Some of the incidents, I’ll be honest, I don’t know how they were handled before because I can guarantee you this has been occurring for years. This is nothing new … but our approach is.”

The public integrity unit has one sergeant and four detectives.

“We’re actively seeking it out. If you call it ‘looking for trouble,’ that’s what we’re doing. We’re out there looking for people that are breaking the law, breaking policies, and we’re going to hold them accountable to the extent that we can.”

In 2017, Salazar’s first year as sheriff, 11 deputies were arrested. The previous sheriff, Susan Pamerleau, saw nine deputies arrested in 2016 and 13 deputies arrested in 2015, her final two years In office.

Joey Palacios can be reached at joey@tpr.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules.

Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules