Gonzales jailer featured in video addressing mental health for corrections officers

Gonzales County Jail Corrections Officer Cpl. William (Ross) Brassell was featured on a video by the Texas Jail Association promoting the importance of prioritizing mental health care for corrections officers.

Earlier this year, Brassell was named the TJA Detention Officer of the Year – Valor after a May 2023 incident in which he subdued one jail inmate who was attacking another with a homemade shank, making Brassell intimately qualified to speak about the gigantic toll the job can take on the mental well being of the men and women who staff correctional facilities throughout the state.

The video, which is a little more than three minutes in length, discusses the stressful nature of corrections officers’ jobs, dealing with inmates' trauma, and the lack of public understanding of their critical role.

It stresses the importance of mental health programs for officers, comparing the need for support at home to that provided to soldiers overseas. It also underscores the necessity of resources and wellness initiatives to address these issues and support the well-being of correctional staff.

“You see people at their worst times when they walk in the doors to come into jail, and we try to leave them with a positive outlook, but some officers need some help to take it upon themselves to get the resources out there,” Brassell said in the video.

Texas Jail Association President Johnny Jaquess said many people do not realize that “correctional staff have one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet.”

“Statistically, they have higher rates of assaults on staff, higher rates of depression, suicide, shorter lifespan. It's a very difficult, very stressful job,” Jaquess said. “Despite being the backbone of the criminal justice system, people really don't understand them. The work of a detention officer and the amount of stress that they're under … being one of the highest rates of PTSD of any profession, more than that of the military. I was surprised to learn that, but it's true.”

“Over time, we've really come to recognize as individual law enforcement corrections agencies the significance of mental health issues amongst our staff,” Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe added. “A lot of that focus has been, you know, particularly directed towards the law enforcement side of things, but when you look at it from a corrections perspective, it's really not tremendously different because of the nature of what they're dealing with on a daily basis, and the level of trauma that can come with some of that.”

Greg Pilkington of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said corrections officers are the ones who have to intervene when “either an individual tried to hang themselves or choke themselves out, or they find some object to cut themselves to try to bleed out.”

“We've had individuals try to ram their head in a wall. There's not a human out there that that doesn't affect,” Pilkington said. “You see those officers deal with that. They deal with it in their head, mentally, and they try to fight that struggle or handle those situations. You go home, you shut it off, you don't talk about it with family.”

Dr. Trina Bivens, who works with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, said “Many (correctional officers) have had to intervene in a suicide attempt and save a life. There's the problem or issue of if there's any fighting or disturbance among the inmates, and this is constant for a 12 hour shift, day on day out.”

Gonzales County Sheriff Keith Schmidt praised Brassell for his cooperation on the video project with TJA.

“Please join me in thanking Corrections Officer William Brassell (soon to be Deputy) for his commitment to serving the citizens of Gonzales County and for his diligent efforts in participating in this enlightening video,” Schmidt said.

“This video should serve as a reminder of the sacrifices our correction professionals make every day to keep Gonzales County safer for all of us. As it was stated by Johnny Jaquess, the President of the Texas Jail Association, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among corrections professionals is at a higher rate than of the military. Together, we can ensure they feel appreciated. 

“Please join me and several other Sheriffs from around the state and give thanks to our wonderful correction staff for the work they do,” Schmidt added.