SAN ANTONIO – For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office hired a full-time staff psychologist to provide counseling and interventions for officers, among other services.
Sheriff Javier Salazar formally announced the appointment of Dr. Brandi Burque to the position on Monday.
Burque’s appointment comes after Salazar vowed to crack down on misconduct within his staff.
Last year, more than two dozen staff members were arrested on charges, ranging from domestic violence to driving while intoxicated.
“The things that in our performance and recovery optimization program is learning to recognize the adrenaline stress levels that an officer may come in contact with as a result of being on the job and the impact that has on health and their performance,” Burque said.
According to BCSO, Burque’s duties will include but are not limited to counseling officers, on-call for hostage negotiation incidents, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trainings and providing crisis intervention services for critical incidents such as officers-involved shootings.