Employee complaints lodged at jail director

Published 3:44 pm Sunday, February 22, 2026

SOUTH BEND — Despite finishing last year well under budget and reportedly being a booming success, the Pacific County Jail is not without internal friction.

The jail in 2025 finished its first year as a standalone agency after significant controversy at the end of 2024 after being separated from the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office.

Alleged complaints since the switch came to light after the Observer began looking into the Pacific County General Administration’s Human Resources/Risk Management’s handling of “internal investigations” seeking investigation reports and employee complaints.

In a first-installment of records received Feb. 12, there were a total of eight complaints. These included an investigation of a deputy prosecutor, multiple employee accounting issues, a complaint against the sheriff’s office, and three direct complaints against the Pacific County Jail Services (PCJS) Director Jim Byrd.

The three complaints against Byrd were dated Oct. 27, Oct. 29 and Dec.17, 2025.

Sexism allegations

In the complaint dated Oct. 27, a female corrections officer accused Byrd of sexism.

“I don’t remember the exact month/day, but it was Officer [Joy] Zielesch and I working,” the officer said. “Director Byrd came up and asked her, and I if we feel safe without a man here. Officer Zielesch asked him what he meant by that. He repeated himself. We said yes. He then said if you guys feel uncomfortable let me know, and we can have this changed.”

The same officer also lodged two additional complaints against Byrd, including one incident that she said happened in front of a handful of fellow jail staffers.

“The month of January this year (2025) we had a staff meeting,” she said. “Director Byrd told me I need to smile.”

“October 7, 2025, I was working overtime in the morning around 11 a.m. Director Byrd walked into our [office] and said, ‘Do you ever do anything?’ I was caught off guard, so I said, ‘Do you?’ Officer Strozyk was sitting by me when this happened,” she added.

According to the complaint dated Oct. 29, 2025, another female corrections officer also took issue with Byrd questioning if a female-staffed shift needed a male officer.

“This was a blatant sexist comment, that is very disrespectful to the female officers that work hard,” that officer said. “The female officers informed me it made them feel as though our new director didn’t have faith in us female officers to do our job without a male to help.”

She also included additional complaints including an alleged incident when she called Byrd for some help about an unspecified issue, and reportedly was belittled and told, “I guess you all need more training on this stuff.”

Another complaint about sexism was also lodged by the officer.

“I was working in the other office one day with Officer Strozyk, Officer Comer I believe, and Officer Dillon Turner,” she said. “It was one of the hot days, so the fan was on to keep us cool.”

“[Director] Byrd walked in and said, ‘Someone is having a hot flash…’ then he turned to look at Officer Strozyk.” This type of statement was very ageist and the manner of the way he said it and directed it to a lady was very disrespectful,” she added.

The complaint from the officer, who was first hired when the jail was under the purview of the sheriff’s office, also claimed that Byrd blamed Pacific County Sheriff Daniel Garcia for ongoing structural issues within the jail and “downplayed the sheriff’s efforts.”

Another corrections officer reportedly had to remove himself from the situation because “Byrd didn’t want to be respectful or professional.” The corrections officer reportedly subsequently was placed on a performance review and counseling.

Overtime complaint

The third complaint form, dated Dec. 17, 2025, was filed by a corrections officer who voluntarily demoted himself last year. He alleged that Byrd was violating his right as the senior corrections officer to claim as much overtime work. He also claimed Byrd had bad-mouthed him to other corrections officers, including making an accusation that the officer was “manipulating the schedule.”

“The audience of this conversation is completely out of line,” the officer said. “I was responsible for scheduling and Director Byrd referred to me at our November training as the ‘scheduled guru’ and he was informed of this schedule…when he took over the jail in January.”

“We also discussed safe staffing levels and overtime coverage. Director Byrd directed how overtime was to be posted and covered. I followed his orders, which was also confirmed in an email.”

“Based on the [collective bargaining agreement], my seniority gives me the right to choose overtime with preference. I feel this is a continuation of the personal attack on my character that occurred in the late August meeting. This is defamation of character and bullying. Director Byrd is abusing his position of authority and engaging in inappropriate conversations about me with my fellow coworkers and is retaliating against me,” the officer added.

The public records provided in the first and second installment did not include any investigation report for the allegations.

The Observer attempted to contact Commissioners Jerry Doyle, David Tobin, and Lisa Olsen, along with PCGA Chief Executive Officer Paul Plakinger and Human Resources/Risk Manager Marie Guernsey, and Byrd. None responded to emails or calls prior to the Observer’s print deadline.