SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Sheriff's Office jail facility was found to be out of compliance with state standards after a multi-day inspection revealed several problems.
KENS 5 reported Monday that there were a total of 18 problems found. Those have been put into 3 categories: Issues corrected, problems to be addressed in less than 30 days, and ones requiring 30 to 60 days to fix.
On Monday, Sheriff Salazar said he did not know whether the jail had actually failed the inspection.
On Tuesday, the Sheriff's Office confirmed the jail was found to be out of compliance. Sheriff Salazar says a report was sent Monday night to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards with some possible solutions and a plan of action in each area of concern.
Sheriff Salazar also said he had promoted Capt. Avery Walker, a 30-year BCSO veteran, to the position of Jail Administrator. Capt. Walker's promotion earns him a new rank of Deputy Chief. The appointment comes after a nationwide search with 60 applicants for the position of Jail Administrator.
The Bexar County Jail will be found out of compliance with state standards, due to areas of concern revealed in a recent inspection.
Sheriff Salazar would not provide an interview on the topic but he did send the following statement:
“Chief Walker has impressed me to no end since assuming the role of Acting Jail Administrator on January 26th. Through the TCJS inspection, he displayed great leadership ability in swiftly orchestrating a plan to address the concerns raised. Chief Walker is reallocating resources as necessary, implementing policies and procedures, and looking at technology to overcome outdated practices which have been around since the mid 90’s. I am excited to have Chief Walker on my command staff and I look forward to working with Mr. Wood and TCJS.
Mr. Wood and I have discussed our plan of action which includes TCJS staff coming to San Antonio in the coming days to brief me, Deputy Chief Walker, and jail administration staff on our next steps to regaining compliance very soon.”