When union workers flood the steps on any courthouse, both the legal and local community tend to take notice. So was the case when the Adult Probation Officer’s Union organized a protest in front of the Bexar County Courthouse on January 10.
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According to reports by KENS-5 Eyewitness News in San Antonio, union workers were outraged after the Bexar County Adult Probation Department fired fellow colleague Sergio Castilleja in an act of alleged retaliation.
At the tail-end of last year, Castelleja voiced criticism over the department’s negligent policy of releasing wanted criminals back onto the streets instead of detaining them. If true, the department was willingly contributing to community endangerment.
Castelleja claims the department reacted to his concerns by demanding that he either resign from his position by December 30 or face certain termination. Refusing to resign, he indeed was fired on January 3.
This latest incident wasn’t the first time Castelleja condemned the department’s reckless handling of wanted criminals.
Back in 2014, he helped circulate a no confidence petition against the department’s director Jarvis Anderson. The petition, which attracted over 100 signatures, specifically cited Anderson’s failure to properly detain wanted criminals.
Despite the petition’s popularity, Anderson maintained his position as director. So far, his administration is responsible for firing two presidents of the Bexar County Probation Officer’s Association, including Castelleja.
So why exactly was Castelleja fired?
Supposedly, Castelleja was responsible for mismanaging 14 probation cases from 2015 to 2016 although he insists receiving no notifications of any wrongdoing. In fact, Castelleja’s solid reputation prompted one of his supervisors to defend him during a post-termination work performance hearing.
While both sides await the results of the union’s impending lawsuit against Anderson, the San Antonio Police Department has agreed to assist Bexar County probation officers in detaining wanted criminals.