LIFE AND TIMES Chapter 16

LIFE AND TIMES OF A CORRECTIONAL OFFICER
By R. Mark Shepard

Most of the Tax paying citizens in this state, or any other state, do not understand what a Correctional Officer has to encounter, and what they have to do every day. They think that Correctional Officers are just a lower form of Law Enforcement. They think that we are just a bunch of people with a high school Diploma and a few of hours of State Training, and that qualifies us to baby-sit thousands of Convicted criminals.

I have been known to get into trouble by voicing my opinion, or just telling someone what I think of their so-called opinion. But on a nicer note, I usually tell them not to judge me until they have walked a mile in my shoes as a Correctional Officer.

It is true that we are just Glorified Baby-sitters, but mostly we are, on a daily basis, Psychologists, Social workers, and most of all, Human Beings.

We've got to have a totally different attitude towards the job and the way we handle ourselves because of the hundreds of different scenarios and situations that we encounter every minute of everyday that would drive the normal unknowing and uneducated judgmental taxpayer into a frenzy.

The totally different attitude we take towards our job makes us human enough to do our job, and after 8 hours we walk out of that gate and go back to our families, hopefully with a different attitude and sense about ourselves.

But, we are only human, and we sometimes forget to leave The Work Place and those problems at work, just as sometimes we forget to leave the domestic problems that we encounter at home, at home.

You see, we are just like the normal Joe or the person employed by the sheriff's Department, or the City Police, or the Highway Patrol. We are HUMAN: We like to drink our beer, have picnics, go to parties and try to enjoy each other’s company. And yes, sometimes we do make our little mistakes no matter what Law enforcement job we are employed at.

There are a few officers that I have seen, who have been caught doing the everyday stupid little moves, like getting caught drinking and driving, shooting live rounds of ammunition in the air from their Illegal Fully-automatic weapons on certain holidays, or having a Cross burning party after shift, in uniform on State property, just to relieve some stress or a little anxiety. We all know that this is not the way to relieve stress, but it happens.

We even had an Assistant Superintendent who was enjoying an evening out, trying to relieve a little stress by driving north in the south bound lane on a major highway. Of course he did have a little more to drink than the average casual drinker.

After about 30 minutes of trying to stop this man from killing himself or other innocent drivers and pedestrians, he was taken to the Jail, where he not only relieved a little stress, but relieved his bodily fluids all over the jail house floor, right in front of God and everyone who was present.

But he did apologize and he wiped up the Fluid with his shirt and then put his shirt right Back on. If you are wondering if it is on the Jail Security Camera, you are right, it is.

Of course being the survivor that he is, and after sleeping off the excess alcohol, and being an Assistant Superintendent of one of the worst prisons in the State, and just Knowing the right person, that has to account for something, because he is still is empowered in his position, and not much else became of that.

Everyone at one time or another has watched on television the so-called 'true to life' stories, features or documentaries about the Correctional Officer. All you see is the Shotgun toting guard either standing on the prison wall, just waiting to shoot a disorderly convict, or you might see the guard walking the prison compound with his night stick in hand, slapping it against the other hand, as if to warn the convict that if he gets out of line, he will be punished right on the spot, in front of other guards and other prisoners, and surely be taught that valuable lesson of how to be good and respectful towards the guard.

I've got news for you, that's NOT how it is! What I am about to tell you in the next chapter is how it really is, and how my long career as a Correctional Officer ended.

And how the justice system really works, especially for those who have worked hard their entire life, telling the truth and have never been in trouble doing the job the right way.

CONTACT MARK SHEPARD
markshepard2003@yahoo.com

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