‘I’ve never seen it this bad’: Doña Ana County detention center short one in three officers

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - More than two months after an ABC-7 report highlighted 'critical' short staffing at the Doña Ana County Detention Center, the union president insists conditions are getting worse.

“I’ve never seen it this bad," said Sgt. Alex Segura. "I’ve been there ten years, I’ve never seen it this bad.”

According to Doña Ana County, the jail is short more than one in three officers. Specifically, the vacancy rate is nearly 38%.

"We’ve been short staffed before, but it’s never been to the critical conditions we’ve had right now," Sgt. Segura said.

In December, an anonymous employee shared with ABC-7 an email from director Bryan Baker warning staffers of "critical staffing situations" within the facility. Two months later, the union president said even more employees have left.

"It's very concerning," Sgt. Segura said. "Not just for our safety, but the safety of detainees as well.”

He accused the county of trying to bust the union by hiring more lieutenants. Doña Ana County Manager Fernando Macias and Doña Ana County Detention Center Director Bryan Baker denied that Tuesday afternoon. They say the move has resulted in fewer employee complaints.

“The lieutenant positions were not created to break up the union, but were done to increase the supervision of staff to avoid many of the issues we had in the past that were contributing to staff leaving," they wrote in a joint statement.

According to Doña Ana County, there is a shortage of officers because of a lack of qualified applications for vacant positions. Leaders say the challenge is not specific to Doña Ana County.

"With overtime and the extra shifts being worked by lieutenants and captains, the impact is not as significant as it would otherwise be," Macias and Baker wrote. "We have the ability to have civilian staff work in some areas which further reduces the impact of short staffing situations."

However, when asked how many more officers the jail could afford to lose, Sgt. Segura said, "at this point, none.”

He would not comment on the possibility of a strike.

COUNTY RESPONDS TO UNION ALLEGATIONS:

Doña Ana County responds to allegations from union president by Katie Bieri on Scribd