First female undersheriff wants Maketa recall

El Paso County’s first female undersheriff wants her former boss out of office. She says he needs to be stopped.

Teri Goodall got her career highlight from Terry Maketa. She even named him as the reason she became the first female undersheriff.

Now, she wants him gone.

She’s joining a chorus of others who say the sheriff has changed.

Goodall says the morale at the sheriff’s office is at rock bottom.

“I got a call Friday night from an employee who’s worked there 18 years who said, ‘When Bill Elder is elected sheriff, I’m not sure how I’ll feel coming to work and not being afraid to lose my job, because I’ve felt that way for so long,'” Teri Goodall said.

She is one of thousands to sign the petition for Maketa’s recall.

But the sheriff still has public support.

“Everybody’s behind him when he’s doing what they want him to do. But when he shows he’s human, let’s wait it out, do they have all the facts?” said Kimberly Willitts, who refused to sign Maketa’s recall petition Tuesday.

Goodall doesn’t think she’s overreacting. But admits, this is difficult to do to a man she once admired.

“I know his kids, I’ve been to his house, he’s been to my house, I know his kids. I’ve been to his children’s graduations,” Goodall said. “We were very close even after I retired, he would call me to talk about the office, we’d still go to lunch pretty regularly.”

Tuesday morning, KRDO reporters noticed the Facebook page for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is down.

“The EPSO Facebook page has been taken down temporarily while we explore options for dealing with potentially threatening or abusive posts,” Lieutenant Jeff Kramer, EPSO Public Information Officer, said in a response. In another email response, Lt. Kramer said Sheriff Maketa was out of town on a pre-planned vacation this week, adding “during his absence he is, as always, maintaining contact with staff at the office.”