SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Sheriff is addressing inmates dying in his jail.
So far this year, KENS 5 has reported on 11 deaths at the Bexar County Jail. The latest death happened this past Tuesday.
This comes as Sheriff Javier Salazar said he is actively working to name a replacement after a jail chief resigned on Monday. Salazar said Deputy Chief Jaime Rios resigned so he could take care of a family member. Salazar said internally, the sheriff’s office already has someone in mind to replace Rios.
Aside from hiring for that position, the sheriff is focused on new initiatives that he hopes will save lives.
He said Tuesday’s death involved a 63-year-old inmate named Ed Penix who was experiencing homelessness, had mental health issues, and had untreated diabetes. He said he was arrested for sleeping on a bench but instead of being booked into jail, Salazar said he should have been taken to a hospital.
“We are seeing an inmate population that is sicker, they are coming in with major medical issues,” Salazar said.
In response to recent deaths at the jail, Sheriff Salazar is launching a new initiative called Operation Lifeguard. He said right now, he has a group of deputies and jailers training to become licensed EMTs.
“Whenever we notice an inmate in distress physically you know we have to call for medical and this is just an extra added measure to cover until such time as medical gets there,” Salazar said.
Each jailer, EMT trained or not, will also be equipped with a trauma kit.
“This pack that I have in front of me, this is actually something that probably very few, if any other jails in the state of Texas are doing,” Salazar said. “There’s clotting agents, there’s tourniquets in here, a lot of trauma related stuff.”
Salazar is also addressing mental health. This year, 2 inmates have died by suicide in his jail. Since 2019, there have been 19 suicides. However, in that same time period, Salazar said they have prevented 403 inmates from taking their own lives.
Right now, he has deputies specially trained to spot people in mental distress working in the jail. He said soon, they will be working in booking as well.
“If that charge is something that’s relatively minor perhaps, we reject that person for mental health reasons and ask that arresting officer to go (take) them to a hospital facility because we don’t need them at the jail,” Salazar said.
Salazar admits drugs have made their way into his jail and inmates have overdosed. He said they have airport-like body scanners but are looking to invest in more from a different company.
He said these changes are necessary. While the jail is not overcrowded, he does not have enough jailers compared to inmates.
“I cannot continue to sit by and let numbers go up that shouldn’t go up, including a death count,” Salazar said.
Salazar is hoping to have his first group of jailers trained as EMTs certified in the next two weeks. He said the program is being paid for by the commissary jail fund.