The family of Francisco Bazan question whether more deputies may be abusing their power at the Bexar County Jail.
SAN ANTONIO — The family of a Bexar County inmate killed last month spoke out on the day of his funeral to demand change.
Former jailer Clemente Lopez is accused of murder after investigators said he allowed a violent attack on 46-year-old Francisco Bazan inside his cell. Four inmates are also facing murder charges.
That investigation led to another jailer’s arrest. Jorge Alejandro Rocha is accused of allowing similar attacks but is not charged in connection to Bazan’s death. According to his warrant, Lopez was the one who reported Rocha to the Texas Rangers while he was being questioned.
“They need to crack down on what’s going on in there,” Janice Palma said.
Janice Palma is Bazan’s sister. She sat next to their father, Francisco Palma, inside the Texas Funeral Home Monday to talk about the situation.
“There’s more than just what we can see at the surface and there’s obviously a lot more people involved than these two deputies, that what I feel,” Janice said.
Bazan was in jail on drug charges. The family said he had been struggling with substance abuse and was hoping to get clean and start fresh once he got out.
According to court documents, his attack was over $40 he allegedly owed another inmate.
The family is now considering taking legal action against the county. They attained attorney Will Clark.
“With a case like this when we’ve seen repeated conduct that at least raises questions of a systemic problem with our Bexar County jail, the only way we would fix that systemic problem is putting pressure on the people making decisions,” Clark said.
The family claimed the jail tried to brush off Bazan’s death as a medical episode at first. However, the medical examiner would rule it as a homicide. They questioned if Bazan received the proper medical treatment, would he be here today.
“They left him in his cell right there to bleed out and die. For two days,” Francisco said.
The family said by speaking out, they are hoping to shine a spotlight on possible corruption. In November of last year, the jail was deemed noncompliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. However, the jail regained compliance by December 31, 2024.
“I just wish and hope and pray that this doesn’t happen to any other family ever again,” Janice said.
KENS 5 did reach out to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for comment regarding their concerns but did not hear back. However, on Friday, following Rocha’s arrest, Sheriff Javier Salazar made it clear he would not condone his deputies abusing their power.
“The way I do business, the way we do business here, that number will absolutely go up, and it will continue to go up if it needs to, meaning the number of arrested deputies,” Salazar said.