After two inmates were mistakenly released from the Bexar County Jail within 24 hours of each other this week, Judge Nelson Wolff is calling on the sheriff to hire a new jail administrator.
Wolff said that if Sheriff Javier Salazar was a non-elected county employee, he would not be allowed to oversee the jail.
Salazar said he supported his current jail administrator, Avery Walker, but agreed there is room for improvement.
“We need to get it together here at the sheriff’s office,” Salazar said.
A reporter noted that Wolff said it's Salazar — specifically — who needs “to get it together.”
“That’s absolutely the case,” responded Salazar.
He added that he doesn't plan to fire anyone, but three sergeants are out on administrative leave.
There are now a total of 13 known mistaken releases.
Salazar said low pay, long hours and understaffing are big issues at the jail — which is failing state jail standards.
Brian Kirkpatrick can be reached at Brian@TPR.org and on Twitter at @TPRBrian.
