Union leaders demand firings following killing of parole agent - Maryland Matters (2024)

Frustration surfaces over what AFSCMEofficials said are ignored safety concerns

Union leaders representing state parole and probation agents are calling for the immediate firing of Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs and two others following the line-of-duty death of an agent last week.

Parole and Probation Agent Davis Martinez, 33, died Friday while conducting a home visit with a client in Chevy Chase. Martinez is the first parole and probation agent to die in the line of duty.

The incident launched an internal investigation and the temporary suspension of in-home visits by parole and probation agents.

Patrick Moran, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3, and Rayneika Robinson, president of AFSCME Local 3661 which represents state parole and probation agents, said the death was foreseeable and preventable.

“I’m not going to stand idly by when people are put in harm’s way or, unfortunately, make the ultimate sacrifice,” Moran said during a phone interview Monday. “Someone has been murdered while doing their job. That’s what happened, and that is on the administration. That is on the agency. That’s not on us. That’s not on the agents or their coworkers. That’s on the agency that was told time and time again that there are problems, and you need to address them, and their response is: We’re not discussing that, or we have no comment, or we’re not going to address something.”

Moran, during the interview, said Gov. Wes Moore (D) should fire Scruggs as well as Parole and Probation Director Martha Danner and Deputy Director Walter E. Nolley.

Moran called for firings shortly after a brief meeting that included Robinson, Scruggs and other state officials that he said was cut short.

Martinez died May 31 while visiting the home of Emanuel Edward Sewell, 54, a sex offender who was released from prison in 2021.

Martinez, a six-year veteran of the agency, failed to report in at work following the visit.

Montgomery County Police said they were asked to do a welfare check at Sewell’s address. Police found Martinez’s body inside Sewell’s residence. Sewell was not there when officers arrived.

Martinez died as the result of multiple injuries, including blunt-force trauma.

Sewell was later arrested in West Virginia. He awaits extradition to Maryland to face second-degree murder charges.

Inquiries to a Moore spokesperson about the incident and safety issues raised by the union were forwarded to a spokesperson at the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Moore’s office did not directly respond to questions nor the union’s call for firings.

Internal investigations and suspended home visits

In a statement, the department said it was “deeply saddened” by Martinez’s death.

“The safety and well-being of department staff are paramount concerns for Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, who has personally faced the challenges of handling justice-involved individuals during her 29-year career as a corrections professional,” the department said in a statement Monday. “Addressing staffing levels and reviewing safety protocols are critical to fulfilling the department’s mission both to ensure public safety and promote restorative justice.”

An internal review and investigation of the incident is ongoing. The department has suspended in-home visits. Agents will “conduct both virtual home visits and in-office visits” pending completion of the review, the agency said.

Moore on Saturday ordered that state flags be flown at half-staff until further notice in honor of Martinez.

Union officials expressed frustration over what they see as an ongoing lack of concern for the safety of agents.

Robinson, who is herself a parole and probation agent, said agents lack proper safety equipment. Many go on home visits in what she called “loaner” body armor that is not fitted to individual agents.

The lack of an individual fit makes the vests less safe, she said.

“The agency has this habit of having us wear vests that aren’t fitted to us. We asked them to stop doing that, but they refused to do it,” Robinson said.

In other cases, the body armor is “expired,” she said.

Body armor technically has no shelf life. The National Institute for Justice recommends a minimum five-year warranty on body armor. Industry standards warn that products used daily face wear and tear that will require replacement outside the warranty period.

“So, not having the resources that we need, because even the tools — the tools we’re provided and the tools that we have — aren’t enough,” she said. “We’re going out in the community with a bulletproof vest and pepper spray.”

When asked if she believed agents should carry firearms, Robinson said: “that’s a complex issue.”

Robinson said increased staffing would allow for a pair of agents to conduct in-home visits where violence is a concern.

“That’s the one of the best defenses that we have — just having someone else there who can make a call to get us to help,” she said.

Caseloads a concern

Recommended caseloads for each agent vary and are based on the types of clients, according to the American Parole and Probation Association.

The group recommends a ratio of 20 cases per agent for clients that require intense supervision, 50-1 for moderate supervision clients and a 200-1 caseload for low-risk clients.

The average ratio statewide in Maryland was 67 clients per agent in 2023, according to a recent analysis by the Department of Legislative Services. The number is well below the 82 cases per agent using the American Parole and Probation Association standard, according to the analysis.

The capital region where Martinez worked reported a ratio of 87 clients per agent — the highest ratio in the state.

That same analysis showed that while the number of people requiring supervised release increased 7% in fiscal 2023, the total was still below pre-pandemic levels.

Currently, the agency has nearly 700 agents and 300 support staff and investigators supervising about 43,000 people statewide, according to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Legislative budget analysts reported a job vacancy rate of about 8.5% as of January within Public Safety, a figure the analysts said was “greatly improved from 16.6% in January 2023.”

Analysts said similar improvements were seen “when looking solely” at the division that includes parole and probation agents and other monitors. In those cases, “vacancies improved from 13.8% in January 2023 to 7.8% in January 2024,” analysts wrote.

In its statement, the department noted efforts to fill vacant positions, saying it has continued to make improvements.

“‘Under the secretary’s leadership, the department has made substantial strides to improve staffing levels,” the statement said. “Upon taking office, the department faced a significant vacancy rate of 17%. Through strong efforts and strategic initiatives, the rate has fallen to 10.4% as of May 31. And among parole and probation agent positions specifically, the vacancy rate has fallen to five percent.”

Moran said he and others are wary of statistics from the department.

“The agencies have consistently played with the numbers in order to look good in front of the administration and in order to look good in front of the legislature,” Moran said.

“So, do I trust the numbers that the agency has put forward?” Moran asked. “No, not at all, because when we did a survey in the Department of Corrections at every single facility, the numbers were in the thousands when they were telling us the numbers were in the hundreds. So, their numbers are to be questioned.”

‘No, we can’t trust you.’

Both Robinson and Moran said union officials met repeatedly with the department for more than a year on safety concerns. Those issues were restated in numerous emails, they said.

Those same concerns arose Monday when union officials said they briefly met with the initial intention of discussing Martinez’s death.

Moran said agency officials during that meeting rebuffed attempts to discuss ongoing safety concerns. He said agency officials in the meeting complained that the meeting had become confrontational when those concerns were raised on Monday.

“These are people that are running departments of an agency, a major agency, one of the largest departments in the state of Maryland, who have supposedly been working in corrections for over 30 years and can’t handle a little confrontation — what they call in their words, not ours — some real talk about a tragedy that has occurred. Their way of handling it is dismissing it and walking out of the meeting, closing down the meeting. ”

The agency, in its statement, did not respond to the union’s characterization of the meeting Monday.

“The department is committed to working in partnership with employees, leadership, our and all of our stakeholder partners as we continue to evaluate and improve upon vacancies and professional policies and procedures,” the statement said.

Moran said union leaders are growing frustrated with what they see as a lack of cooperation.

“You can’t continuously go to people to say let’s work together and then refuse to work with them. You just can’t do that,” Moran said. “At some point you’re just going to say, ‘No, we can’t trust you, and we’re going to take other measures.'”

Rare union criticism of an ally

Comments from Moran represent a rare instance of public confrontation between the union and the governor.

The union endorsed Moore in the 2022 general election. Since Moore’s swearing-in as governor in January 2023, the union has enjoyed having what it saw as an ally in the governor’s office.

Prior to Moore, the union and then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R) were locked in a contentious, if not combative, relationship.

Moore campaigned on rebuilding state government. That promise included reducing state vacancies, improved pay and hiring more union workers.

The governor vowed to cut 10,000 state government vacancies — his own estimate — in half by the end of his first year in office.

That effort fell short.

Moran said the agency has to follow through on its promises.

“Look, you can work with folks, but if they don’t want to work with you, then you don’t leave us much of a choice,” Moran said when asked why he and Robinson were publicly calling for the firings.

“The Department of Corrections … parole and probation show no willingness to work with us,” he said. “They’ll meet with us, but then they’ve got to fulfill their obligations. They haven’t been willing to fulfill their obligations, whether that’s dealing with things on the ground in the prisons or dealing with things on the ground out in the community where the agents are out there doing this work. The concerns have been largely ignored.”