CITING A $3 MILLION SHORTFALL FROM THE FEDS, COUNTY PLACES JAILER HIRING FREEZE AT THE SHERIFF'S DEPT.

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

With a projected shortfall of between $2.5 and $3 million as a result of the removal of federal prisoners form Cameron County detention centers, the county commissioners have placed a freeze on filling any vacancies in the Sheriff's Department that includes between 70 to 80 jailers and deputies.

And Sheriff Eric Garza and the department are caught in a dilemma. 

The removal of the federal prisoners by the U.S. Marshal's Service came about as a result of the jails' failure to pass inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). But now that the jails have passed a re-inspection, Garza cannot fill the slots because his efforts to recruit jailers has failed to attract applicants because of what some call a "hostile working environment" and low jailer wages compared to neighboring counties.

"Chief Deputy Robert Gracia got this 'perfect' plan about removing the federal prisoners to pressure the commissioners to give the jailers a raise in order to bring the feds back," said department staffer. "Wrong move."

The commissioners' implementation of the hiring freeze was taken during their last meeting Tuesday, court sources have confirmed.

As it is, the court was using the federal funds to pay for overtime for the remaining jailers, but since Garza and Gracia got the federal prisoners removed the county needed to find money to pay for the overtime," a jail staffer said. "As it is now, jailers are working 12 hours a day because of the lack of manpower and putting in four hours a day overtime. The county suddenly finds itself some $2.5 to $3 million in the hole."

Even before Garza cam on board, the operation and funding of the jails have always been an albatross hanging around the neck of former sheriffs. The presence of jail gangs like La Eme, the Texas Syndicate, Los Vallucos, Sureños, and others have led to riots, fights, escapes, the killing of a civilian by an escapee, and control of some jail cells by these groups.

Now, with the hiring freeze in place, the remaining jail staff find that they have their hands full controlling the remaining prisoners.

The problem started when Garza and Gracia took over the  department and started the wholesale removal and/or transfer of the staff, sometimes based on whether they had supported Garza or former sheriff Omar Lucio. 

This was compounded by the fact that Gracia assumed authority as chief deputy when he was not even a county employee or had a Texas peace officer certification. In fact, it would be three months after they took over on January 2021 that he was formally hired, and the same amount of time that he passed his certification exams that allowed him to fill the job description as chief deputy.

The apparent retaliation against Lucio supporters has led to a series of lawsuits against the sheriff and the county in state and federal courts. In fact, the federal lawsuit filed by Sgt. Rodrigo Almanza for political retaliation is set for this coming July.

And since Gracia was not a county employee when the events mentioned in the lawsuit occurred, the commissioners voted not to have the county defend him citing exposing the county unnecessarily to liability. It didn't help that Garza's demands reached a point where he demanded – by pounding his fist on the table during a meeting with the commissioners – that they give him the funds to pay the jailers more money and attract recruits."

(For months now, the department and courthouse have been rife with rumor of Gracia's imminent departure from his position. Some said in the coming weeks, others next month in June.)

"Sheriff Garza should have known better," said a county staffer. "He had been district clerk for four years and knew the budget process. But something happened to Eric when he became sheriff. He changed and has become very demanding and authoritative. The commissioners didn't like that."

Sources at the county say that the commissioners – without Garza's participation – may have already reached a deal with the U.S. Marshal's Service to return the federal prisoners, perhaps in time for the coming budget year. But until then, the department will have to operate with the short staff and try to attract jailers into its ranks.

"Until then, it's going to be hard for the remaining jailers," said a sheriff's department staffer. "We're caught between a rock and a hard place."