Divided Brazos County Commission approves funding two investigators for the new medical examiner's office

This podcast contains comments from the March 10, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.In this year's Brazos County budget, commissioners previously authorized the creation of positions for the new medical examiner's office.At Tuesday's meeting (March 10), commissioners voted three to one to fund three positions.The divided vote was about hiring two investigators instead of one.Fred Brown was opposed to funding the second position before the office actually opens.The county's first medical examiner, Dr. Jennifer Dierksen, said two investigators were initially needed and she will eventually be asking for a total of four investigators. She estimates the office will examining 250 to 300 deaths per year.Dierksen also responded to Brown's question about the need for investigators in the medical examiner's office when there are law enforcement investigators. She says this reduces conflict of interest and her investigators will be there to assist surviving family members.Salaries for the investigators was set at $40.87 per hour.The third position approved by commissioners, which generated no discussion, was raising the pay of the administrator of forensic operations from $37.50 to $60.10 per hour.The pay for the three positions totals $192,139 dollars.