Murdered Maryland parole officer's family deals with "unbearable loss." Union says he shouldn't have worked alone.
BALTIMORE- After the murder of a Maryland parole and probation officer while on the job, home check-ins have been suspended statewide, and union leaders are calling for top officials to be fired.
Agent Davis Martinez, who had been on the job for six years, went to the home of a convicted sex offender last Friday in Chevy Chase.
Emanuel Edward Sewell, 54, is charged with killing Martinez at the home and fleeing the scene.
"He truly is a hero," said Rayneika Robinson, the head of the section of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union that represents parole employees. "The only reason he was going on that home visit is because another agent had the case l, and that agent didn't feel safe. So he stepped up and did the right thing by going out."
The union has raised alarms for years and called staffing levels dangerously low.
Short-staffed
As of late last year, according to a state legislative report, the Department of Public Safety had a 12.5% vacancy rate with 1,000 open positions.
"Essentially, we just shove a threat from one person to another and sometimes we don't even know we're inheriting someone who has made a threat," Robinson said.
Why alone?
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren asked Robinson whether agent Martinez should have been sent alone to the apartment.
"I don't believe any agent should ever go out to the home of anyone alone," Robinson said. "You should have someone else there who is at least able to call for help."
Captured during manhunt
Emanuel Sewell is the suspect in the murder case. He was released in 2021 after serving two decades behind bars.
Authorities captured Sewell in Hurricane, West Virginia after a manhunt that stretched across several states.
"He was violent"
During a news conference, Maryland's Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Carolyn Scruggs denied there were warning signs.
"It is typical that they go alone on those visits. Typically, they will assess the situation, and assess the risk. This individual had not shown to pose a risk prior," Scruggs told reporters.
Patrick Moran, the president of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, has called for top officials to step down.
"The facts are he was violent. He was a sex offender. Numerous agents in the past had voiced their concerns about this murderer," Moran said.
"Those who ignored us when we begged them for help, those who were on emails and saw the dangers that we have, he wants them held accountable," Robinson said. "He wants them gone, and he wants an administration that is able to protect us."
Safety concerns
Parole and probation is still doing virtual and in-office visits, but the union shared several other recent incidents that highlight safety concerns, including one where a person had a knife, another became aggressive and security did not respond, and another where an agent was called a racial slur.
"We're not just talking about the safety of us as staff, but this is the safety of our community," Robinson said.
"We've cried for help"
While the state has suspended in-home parole and probation check-ins for now, Robinson said that does not go far enough.
"We've cried for help, and we haven't received that help. When it comes to optimism, I don't necessarily have confidence that the same people who we've been talking to for all this time are going to do what's right, do what needs to be done to protect us," she told Hellgren.
Brother says "our hearts ache"
Agent Martinez's heartbroken brother said the victim was the sole provider for his elderly mother. He has raised more than $20,000 to support their family on GoFundMe.
Michael Martinez wrote, "Our hearts ache with the unbearable loss we feel every day. …His commitment and sacrifice for the safety of others leaves a void that will never be filled. The entire state of Maryland mourns alongside us."
