Dallas County has sworn in its first black sheriff to lead the nation's seventh-largest jail system after former sheriff Lupe Valdez resigned to run for governor.
Marian Brown took the oath during a midnight ceremony Monday. Brown, a retired Duncanville assistant police chief, was selected by Valdez to be her top assistant and was Valdez's recommend choice for her successor as sheriff.
The 52-year-old Brown will serve as interim sheriff until voters elect a new sheriff in November.
"I think it's important that the person who serves as the interim can say to people, 'Look, business as usual,'" Brown told NBC 5 in a previous interview.
Brown has said her priorities will be learning more about jail issues and focusing on rebuilding trust between the community and the department.
The sheriff supervises about 2,000 employees and 5,000 inmates at the Dallas County Jail.
Valdez stepped down in December after 12 years as the nation's first openly gay Latina to serve as sheriff. She's now running for the Democratic nomination to try to unseat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
