“ I can feel that happening to somebody in my department, which is not a great feeling,” explained Camden County Corrections Local 351 Delegate Michael Turner, who drove to Delaware to meet other members of his Local who were there to pay respects.“ I wish that we had more training and more staff to help out in these situations.”
The Delaware State University Memorial Hall auditorium reached capacity on that Saturday morning when law enforcement officers traveled from as far away as Canada and Las Vegas to attend the funeral service. The hundreds of men and women in uniform represented different backgrounds and disciplines within law enforcement, but as Morris County Local 298 State Delegate Rodney Furby noticed, a majority of them were corrections officers who could all too easily picture what it would be like to be in Floyd’ s position: one corrections officer patrolling a room of at least 60 criminals.
“ Even in our jail, which is run very well, if I go work the housing unit the ratio is one officer for 64 inmates,” explained Furby.
“ You don’ t have any weapons, other than handcuffs. You don’ t have pepper spray. I can’ t beat 60 guys alone even on my best day.”
As waves of officers flowed in and out of Memorial Hall like veins toward a beating heart, PBA corrections officers shared their grief with officers from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maine and beyond who understand what it’ s like to be on the inside, dealing with the criminals that the rest of the world gets to forget about once they’ re behind bars.
“ It was breathtaking to fill that gym and know that our lives matter that much,” voiced Turner.“ Everybody who works in our profession understood the importance of being there. You hope that it brings awareness to all facilities to become more prepared and for the community to understand what we do on a regular basis.” d
www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ FEBRUARY 2017 37