Sheriff Randy Cruz informed the Baker County Corrections Board that litigation filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2022 against him and Captain Evelyn Blue has been settled and dismissed with prejudice, and that the settlement included no admission of liability and no monetary damages.

Cruz said the original media interview that prompted the complaint occurred on Aug. 3, 2022, and that the ACLU filed suit on Sept. 26, 2022. He said the county and the sheriff's office reached a settlement on July 18, 2025; the settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court on Aug. 11, 2025, and the case was dismissed with prejudice on Aug. 15, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan.

"We admitted no liability and we were not required to pay any monetary damages," Cruz said, reading the settlement outcome to the board. He told commissioners the settlement's stipulations restated requirements already covered by the NDS 2019 standards and the sheriff's office policies that predated the settlement.

Cruz characterized the litigation as part of a broader pattern of activist groups targeting facilities that hold ICE detainees, and he urged the board that the sheriff's office would both hold staff accountable for misconduct and vigorously defend staff when allegations are without merit. "I'm not gonna stand by and remain silent and not vigorously defend what we do here at the sheriff's office," Cruz said.

The sheriff also discussed ACLU complaint-tracking numbers the office cited in the meeting packet: he said the ACLU database listed 470 complaints statewide and 209 tied to Baker County. Cruz provided context by saying the detention center has processed roughly 30,000 bookings during his tenure and that about 16,000 were ICE detainees; he added that only a small portion of complaints are substantiated.

Cruz told the board the settlement documents are public record in the federal court docket and that the office sees the dismissal as a resolution that vindicates staff operations; he asked the board to note the outcome now that the case is closed.

No formal action was taken by the board on the settlement during the meeting.