SAN ANTONIO — After a swearing in ceremony at the strike of midnight on New Year's Eve, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar mapped out his plans during his inauguration on New Year's Day.
"I'm proud to take my place in Bexar County history, I will make every day of my sheriff's career a tribute," said Salazar.
"I just knew he had it in him. To me he was not going to give up. Giving up was not an option," said his brother Eduardo.
While most people were celebrating New Year's Eve, Sheriff Salazar was touring county facilities like the adult detention center into the early hours of the morning.
"As a career police officer, I've been to the jail many times but I've never been past the booking desk," Salazar said.
With the first tour and the swearing-in under his belt, Monday morning his career takes a new turn.
"It's actually going to be a long day because not only am I working my first shift as the sheriff, I'll be working my first mandatory overtime hours. I'll be sticking around with them," said Salazar.
The new sheriff has a laundry list of goals ranging from body cameras to jail improvements, but he says the two biggest hurdles are recruitment and morale boosting.
"Recruiting is going to be one of those things we're going to work on from day one," Salazar said.
As Salazar prepares for his transition into his new role, he's looking to bring fresh faces to his command staff.
"I didn't really retain very many people from the prior administration. Some of the command staff are probably going to come from within the sheriff's office, but additionally any other command staff that are coming with me from other agencies or from outside, they're all seasoned police officers with years and years of service," Salazar said.
Years of service to match his life-long career in law enforcement.
"It took all of us to get to him to where he's at today. There was no doubt in my mind that it was going to happen," said Eduardo Salazar.
Sheriff Salazar also says another goal is to to form more cohesion between his department and other law enforcement agencies across the county.
He hopes to announce the rest of his command team by the end of this week.