SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher incurred thousands of dollars a day in security costs.
According to documents obtained by ABC 10News, the County of San Diego started paying for a private security company beginning in September 2021 through at least last month at a total cost of $1.9 million.
As the face of the county and its response during COVID-19, Fletcher was receiving threats.
The dollar amounts for protection initially started small, but after a suspected incidence of arson at Fletcher’s home in January 2022, those payments shot up from around $24,000 a month to $109,000.
New invoices obtained by ABC 10News outline the daily private security costs.
While most of the documents were heavily redacted, they do show the total hours of security per day, the hourly cost, and the total cost for each day.
The records also give a breakdown of other expenses incurred by the security company. They list charges for things such as transportation, food (per diem), and lodging expenses incurred by the security company if Fletcher was out of town.
Records show that in December 2022 initial security costs ranged between $1,000 and $3,000 per day.
Right around Christmas, the cost jumped to around $7,000 a day.
A cross-reference of Fletcher and other family member’s social media accounts show for at least some of those days where costs were around $7,000 Fletcher was out of town and receiving security protection.
In December, records show the county was billed along with those daily costs, nearly $40,000 for lodging, food, and transportation costs for the security company.
Records obtained by ABC 10News show security costs increase around holidays and holiday weekends.
It’s unclear what the security detail entailed other than providing “vehicle transportation,” as the contract with the county and the security company is blacked out where it describes the requirements and personnel.
Fletcher's security detail came to light in a recent lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit filed March 28 by former MTS employee Grecia Figueroa, while Fletcher was the MTS Board Chair, she says he sexually harassed and sexually assaulted her. He has denied the allegations and claims any interaction was consensual.
The lawsuit details one instance where Fletcher allegedly convinced Ms. Figueroa to visit him at a downtown hotel. But he asked her to arrive after 10 p.m. because that was when his security guards would be off duty.
Records obtained by ABC 10News show security costs that day were $2,800.
The lawsuit also details other dates where Fletcher allegedly had contact with Figueroa in person and on social media.
One New Year's Eve 2022 the lawsuit claims Fletcher sent Figueroa a message that said “Happy new year mi armor. Here is to a 2023 where all are desires come true. Don’t reply :) will see you in 2023!!!”
Records obtained by Team 10 show security costs that day were $6,990.
A spokesperson for Nathan Fletcher's office was not able to comment on the security costs.
