Lieutenant Manuel Salacup began his career as a Correctional Officer with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office in November 2003. Shortly after completing his training, Lieutenant Salacup joined the Merced County Sheriff's Office's Special Emergency Response Team (S.E.R.T.). While on the S.E.R.T. Team, he worked his way up the ranks and eventually became Team Leader. His training has equipped him to lead the team during hostile situations and mass disturbances. Lieutenant Salacup also spent many years in our Classification Unit. In 2006, he helped create the classification point system. Two years later, he was promoted to Correctional Sergeant. He assisted in creating the Office’s first drug treatment program to help lower the Jails recidivism rate. When the Merced County Sheriff's Office decided to build and remodel the John Lotorraca Correction Center (JLCC), they selected Lieutenant Salacup to lead the project.
Lieutenant Salacup has years of knowledge, training, and experience in the Correctional environment. He is a certified Less Lethal Instructor, a Chemical Agents instructor, as well as a Pepperball instructor. He attended multiple Community Colleges to help further his knowledge of criminal justice.
In December 2021, Sheriff Warnke assigned Lieutenant Salacup as the acting Lieutenant of the John Lotorraca Correctional Center until being formally promoted to Lieutenant in November 2022. His promotion has allowed him to oversee the day-to-day operations of the John Lotorraca Correctional Center.