Lieutenant Kate Brunke began her career with the Sheriff’s Office as a Correctional Officer on March 19, 2001. Early in her career she was afforded the opportunity to work a variety of assignments.   During her first year of employment, she became one of the first pioneering members of the Sheriff’s Office Custody Response Team (CRT). For seven years she worked diligently alongside her peers and developed specialized emergency response skills; trained in the use of less-lethal weapons, transportation high risk escorts, and cell extractions.  Early in her career, Lt. Brunke also became a Defensive Tactics instructor; a role that allowed her to teach use of force, ground fighting, control holds, impact weapons, pugilistic, de-escalation, and case law. 

In July 2016 Lt. Brunke was promoted to Custody Sergeant where she worked as a Floor Sergeant between three facilities and served five years as the Booking Sergeant.  In 2022 she earned an assignment in the Compliance and Professional Standards Bureau, where she worked on updating policies, processed public records requests, and reviewed use of force incidents. 

In 2022, based on her exemplary leadership and team building, she was selected as the Sheriff’s Office Supervisor of the Year. 

On June 26, 2023, Lt. Brunke was promoted to Custody Lieutenant.  She now serves as the Facility Commander of the Claybank Detention Facility.