Cochise County sheriff backs experts' recommendation to rebuild jail at existing site; public meeting set

Sheriff Mark Danos said experts advising Cochise County recommend rebuilding the county jail at the existing site and that he supports that recommendation.

The recommendation matters because the experts assessed operational factors such as proximity to the courts, medical access and staff commute patterns, and concluded that the current site remains most efficient. Danos said his office’s corrections experts — including Commander Kenny Bradshaw, a retired deputy warden — reviewed operational issues and provided a position paper that is posted on the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Danos said the outside consultants considered court location, medical services and staffing when producing their recommendation and that his staff’s operational view matches the experts’. "As a sheriff, as somebody's got constitutional authority to operate the jail and sustain the jail, we also have a recommendation which matches the experts," he said on the July 4 First Watch radio program. He added that a majority of detention staff live in the southern part of the county, which he estimated at about 80 percent, and said that was a factor in favor of the existing location.

The Board of Supervisors is continuing a site-selection process. Danos said the board will hold a public meeting next Thursday at about 5:30 p.m.; he asked listeners to verify the time on the county calendar. He described the position paper as a public record and said members of the public can request a copy from the sheriff’s office. "If you want a copy, call our office. We can give you a copy of it," Danos said.

Danos emphasized that the recommendation was produced by experts and staff: "It's not Sheriff Danos' — I have experts who work in the jail. My commander, Kenny Bradshaw, is a retired deputy warden from the state prisons... they spent their whole careers on putting that author that letter on their behalf." He encouraged public comment at the upcoming meeting.

No final decision had been reported on the radio program. The Board of Supervisors' site-selection process, including any vote or formal action, was not described in the broadcast.

The sheriff also noted other community matters during the program, including recognition of long-serving department members and a scheduled public meeting on the jail site-selection issue.

Citizens seeking the sheriff’s position paper or verification of the public meeting time were directed to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page or to contact the office directly.