‘ The importance of being there’
Hundreds of NJ State PBA corrections officers attend funeral for fallen Delaware brother n BY AMBER RAMUNDO n PHOTOS BY VINNY D’ AMICO AND MICHAEL TURNER
The New Jersey Turnpike tracked a continuous string of flashing lights on the morning of Feb. 11 when more than 100 vehicles loaded with NJ State PBA members headed south to honor a fallen brother. The caravan stretched as far as the eye could see and shut down highway traffic from Burlington County to the Delaware Memorial Bridge, where even more law enforcement officers joined the procession.
Their destination was Dover, Delaware, where law enforcement agencies from across the nation gathered to pay their respects to Delaware State Corrections Lieutenant Steven Floyd, Sr., who was held hostage by prisoners and killed on Feb. 2 while working his shift at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center.
“ It’ s one of us,” stressed Terrance Benson, Sr., Burlington County Corrections Local 249 State Delegate, who mourned the death of Lieutenant Floyd as one of his own. Benson didn’ t need to know Floyd directly to identify with his lifestyle as a corrections officer.
“ We work that reality every day,” Benson insisted.“ This could be myself or any of us. Delaware may seem far away but the issue is not.”
The presence of more than a dozen Locals at the service also represented a call to action for concerns shared among all corrections officers as they stood together in Lieutenant Floyd’ s
In Memoriam Lieutenant Steven Floyd, Sr.
Delaware State Corrections End of Watch: February 2, 2017 honor.
“ I would hope that administration would stop and take a look at what they’ re doing in regard to what just happened and make adjustments in their department,” Benson shared.“ I hope it hits home for all of them. Because this is a problem that is occurring in all jails.”
Floyd served in the Delaware Department of Corrections for 16 years and was promoted to Lieutenant on Feb. 3, the day after he and three other officers were caught in an overnight standoff that lasted nearly 20 hours with an estimated 120 inmates. The other officers involved, including one female, survived the incident. While the prison remains under investigation for answers as to how exactly the hostage incident played out, corrections officers from many Locals agree that the tragedy of Lieutenant Floyd’ s death is the result of issues in understaffing and training that exist in corrections facilities everywhere.
36 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ FEBRUARY 2017