Sheriff Mark Daniels said the Cochise County jail needs to be rebuilt, defended a redacted 2021 risk assessment made public in part, and described a recent mechanical fire at the facility that prompted medical treatment for kitchen workers and inmates.

The risk assessment, which Daniels referred to as the 2021 "Nigel" report, was prepared by outside experts, he said, and recommended replacing rather than remodeling the 40‑year‑old jail. Daniels said county legal staff and the county attorney reviewed the document and cleared additional redactions before release because some details could jeopardize inmate and staff safety or operational security.

Daniels said the redactions and decisions about what to release were driven by a balance between transparency and safety. "I'm all about transparency to the point where it jeopardizes my men and women, my oath, in this case the operation of a jail to include the inmates that I'm taking an oath to safeguard," he said, adding that he relied on legal counsel to determine what could be disclosed.

Daniels said the questioned fire at the jail involved a motor on a door and produced enough smoke that kitchen workers, inmate trustees and staff required medical treatment. He said protocols worked and that the facility's staff brought the incident under control. "If it takes a hundred officers to save a life, we're gonna have a hundred officers out there," Daniels said, describing the scale of resources the office is prepared to deploy for life‑preservation incidents.

The sheriff also highlighted internal steps he said address staffing and training: he noted the sheriff's office graduated 14 officers from its first in‑house detention academy (Class 25‑1) and that the office is working with Cochise College on future training partnerships. Daniels said the combination of facility shortcomings and operational weaknesses underpinned the outside recommendation to rebuild.

Daniels criticized social‑media speculation that the jail incident was staged, calling those claims "insensitive" to staff and inmates who were exposed to smoke and had to be treated. He said legal constraints — including executive session protections and attorney‑client privilege when the county reviewed the assessment — limit what he can publicly discuss about some internal deliberations, and that a judge could order fuller disclosure.

The sheriff raised the upcoming Nov. 4 election as context for public interest in the documents, saying the request for the report from a private individual triggered the reexamination of what could be released. He said he wanted the public to see the facility's weaknesses but would not provide material that could be weaponized against the jail's security or jeopardize safety.

Ending: Daniels said the office will continue to brief the public within legal limits and reiterated support for staff at the jail as they manage day‑to‑day risks and pursue training and facility planning.