Author Topic: A workmates death (Read 3314 times)

Hush · « **on:** May 16, 2010, 03:10:44 AM »

Today something happened that has not occurred in 200 years in the New Zealand prison service.
Today an Officer was killed by a prisoner in the line of duty.
While that may seem amazingly small odds over 200 years it will send a shock through a country where our Police are not even armed.
My grief over the death of 33 year old Corrections Officer Jason Palmer is increased by the way the Dept of Corrections has barred us from lowering our flags to halfmast, the internationally recognised signal of loss.
I was told earlier this year by my Prison Manager when an old friend and work mate died of cancer that lowering the flag was only for the Royal family or heads of state......phooey!!!

When a Police Officer was shot a year ago in my home town, we lowered our flag as a sign of solidarity with our brothers in the NZ Police Force.
Recently when one of our helicopters crashed heading for an ANZAC ceremony last month again flags throughout the country were lowered.
Is our branch of the services held in such low esteem that Jason Palmer does not warrant the same courtesy?

dave500 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 16, 2010, 03:22:48 AM »

man!what the?

Hush · « **Reply #2 on:** May 16, 2010, 03:34:18 AM »

Jason was born in South Carolina USA, married and a father of 2 young children.
I'm sooooo damn angry that I have been emailing every Member of Parliament I can find email addresses for, if I have to change Government policy over this I will!

If I get a boot in the arse from my boss I don't care, going above his head is a small thing compared to the great insult and diservice they are visiting upon the memory of a fellow Officer.

dave500 · « **Reply #3 on:** May 16, 2010, 03:39:11 AM »

yeah make some noise!man?thats just? i dont know?

demon78 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 16, 2010, 04:22:33 AM »

That's rough Hush I wonder how your boss would feel if it was one of his that got offed and there wasn't a symbol of loss?
Bill the demon.

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #5 on:** May 16, 2010, 05:06:08 AM »

I recon you should hang your boss at half mast, then he might just get it.....

Sorry for your loss Hush...

Mick

vanillagorilla · « **Reply #6 on:** May 16, 2010, 06:02:00 AM »

youre doing the right thing, Hush. hope Jason gets the respect he deserves. sorry for your loss. give 'em hell!

bill440cars · « **Reply #7 on:** May 16, 2010, 07:33:56 AM »

Quote from: vanillagorilla on May 16, 2010, 06:02:00 AM

youre doing the right thing, Hush. hope Jason gets the respect he deserves. sorry for your loss. give 'em hell!

Same here Hush, Jason SHOULD get that consideration and show of Respect. It's the sort of job that takes a special person to do. My hat's off to YOU as well, for what YOU do!

seaweb11 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 16, 2010, 09:55:25 AM »

Real change comes from passionate individuals, not government.

Go for it.

Rocking-M · « **Reply #9 on:** May 16, 2010, 12:20:17 PM »

Quote from: seaweb11 on May 16, 2010, 09:55:25 AM

Real change comes from passionate individuals, not government.

Go for it.

Agreed. Sorry for the loss of your Mate.

Hush · « **Reply #10 on:** May 16, 2010, 02:47:43 PM »

Well I've rung around the prisons today and we have the flags lowered, not sure if it was my interventions but I have a meeting with senior management on Wednesday and boy am I gonna raise some dust over this.

Mr Pa former United States Marine Corps member, moved to New Zealand eight years ago and lived with his wife and two children, aged five and two.

His family said they were focusing on remembering him as he was, rather than on how he died.

Younger brother Justin Palmer, 28, speaking from his mother's house in Woodbridge, Virginia, told The Dominion Post his brother had lived for his wife and children.

"He was a dedicated family man -- he went to work to support his family," he told the newspaper.

"He would make you laugh -- even during a very dark time, even being down in the dumps."

BobbyR · « **Reply #11 on:** May 16, 2010, 06:23:15 PM »

You did the right thing. What is this royalty crap. In this part of the World a brother dies the flag goes half mast.

Hush · « **Reply #12 on:** May 16, 2010, 06:41:22 PM »

My thoughts exactly Bobby, I take a bit to get stirred by most things before I go into attack mode but this one I'm into straight from the get-go.
I just recieved an email from my bosses secretary asking if seeing as how the flags have now been lowered, do I still want to leave that on the meeting agenda for Wednesday's meeting.
Too bloody right I do, I'm not going through this again when emotions are high and wounds are still open at the next incident.....I'm gonna fix it once and for all right now!

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #13 on:** May 16, 2010, 08:49:33 PM »

Quote from: Hush on May 16, 2010, 06:41:22 PM

My thoughts exactly Bobby, I take a bit to get stirred by most things before I go into attack mode but this one I'm into straight from the get-go.
I just recieved an email from my bosses secretary asking if seeing as how the flags have now been lowered, do I still want to leave that on the meeting agenda for Wednesday's meeting.
Too bloody right I do, I'm not going through this again when emotions are high and wounds are still open at the next incident.....I'm gonna fix it once and for all right now!

Good for you Hush....well done mate..

Mick

NickC · « **Reply #14 on:** May 16, 2010, 09:20:47 PM »

Semper Fi..........

bender01 · « **Reply #15 on:** May 16, 2010, 10:11:08 PM »

Get it done Please. God rest his soul and be with his loved ones.

Who is this prisoner with? Can we have him back to South Carolina? Id like to ease his soul! That sounds harsh but its the truth.. and I need coyote bait!

toycollector10 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 16, 2010, 10:43:03 PM »

Good on you Hush.

This week we had a USA immigrant to New Zealand resign from the Youth Corrections here in Christchurch after banging his head against a brick wall. He was a man who knew what was happening but the bureaucracy didn't want to know.

I'm actually #$%*ing ashamed to be a Kiwi when all this stuff goes down. I'm embarrassed about it!

onagd · « **Reply #17 on:** May 17, 2010, 12:13:13 AM »

good on you Hush! As a former police officer who had the task of interviewing many of the scum bags who populate or prisons and seeing the crap prison guards have to deal with, your mate deserves all the recognition that comes his way, as do you.

Hush · « **Reply #18 on:** May 17, 2010, 01:11:17 AM »

Hey Bender, don't you have a law against cruelty to animals over there?

Feeding any of those so-called "Killer bees" to any animal would be cruel and unusual punishment.
Toycollector, I'm also embarressed to be a kiwi sometimes, that Officer's mother said a mouthful when she said her son was frightened by the limited resources that Corrections staff have to deal with these prisoners.
I predict huge changes to the way Maxi prisoners are handled in the future, as Jason's mother said, we New Zealanders are far too kind to our criminals!
We have always known there were "problems" with Springhill prison and the one farther North at Nawha, they were hurridly built and staffed by anyone who wanted promotion but couldn't get it any other way......the problems were there from the start and it was stated to me by an Officer who had worked at Springhill that there will be an Officer killed there!

DarkRider · « **Reply #19 on:** May 17, 2010, 11:31:31 AM »

Wow...sorry for your loss man....That is BULL#$%*!! (excuse my french here guys) that your superiors thought it was a good idea to insult this mans family by refusing to recognize him and his service to the corrections system by not lowering the flag. Guess im a lil amped up on this particular issue because of reading about another riot on the RC forum im on. A guy who has become a pretty good buddy over the course of the time i have known him was involved in it. And if your situation was anything close to the riot he just delt with i would be VERY careful about not allowing it to happen again.

Lee Cool · « **Reply #20 on:** May 18, 2010, 01:14:44 PM »

He also has a 13 year old son named Taylor Palmer who lives with his mother Susan Cool (Hill) in Kingsville, Texas United States. This is Jason's first child. Taylor had never met his dad , but was suppose to meet him in the near future. He is grieving for the father he will never meet and deserves to be acknowledged. I,m not sure why he is not being mentioned or included. I don't mean to disrespect this good man's death, but his eldest son deserves to be apart of his dads memory and legacy. Respectfully, Lee Cool step-father to Taylor Palmer.

Hush · « **Reply #21 on:** May 19, 2010, 02:13:49 AM »

Yes I agree totally Lee, this tragic event will alter many peoples lives and your stepson will be one of them.
We will be holding a service for Jason this week once autopsy results are back and his body is released to the family, the funeral looks likely to be Friday as I believe his Mother will be in New Zealand by then.
All flags "WILL" be at halfmast for Jason, I have knocked on some pretty lofty doors to ensure this.
Staff from many other prisons from throughout the country will be sent to Jason's prison to run it so all Springhill staff can attend the service.
A minutes silence will be observed throughout the countries Corrections Departments at the time his service starts.
I have not finished battling this one as I only ever want to do it once, if another Officer falls the same way in the future I do not expect to be fighting for the respect and aknowledgment they deserve.

Sam Green Racing · « **Reply #22 on:** May 19, 2010, 03:29:33 AM »

Well done Hush, R.I.P. JP.

Sam.

Hush · « **Reply #23 on:** May 25, 2010, 12:33:48 AM »

Well we finally got around to Jason's funeral, his family had arrived from the states and along with around 400 Corrections Officers and more top brass than I've seen in one place ever we held the service in the small town of Pukekohe.
One thing I have never seen before, the New Zealand flag and the Stars and Stripes hanging side by side, but after all he had been a U.S. Marine.
I have to give the Police their due, they treated this like it was one of their own had been struck down, they blocked off 4 whole blocks with patrol cars and stopped all vehicles from entering so we wouldn't be interupted.
It was kind of freaky seeing Jason's identical twin brother standing there giving a reading and the pain was evident from Jason's graduating wing of Corrections Officers, you sort of bond for life when you go through ITC training.
It was a long day for me getting up at 3.30 am and driving 5 hours there then 5 hours back in torrential rain but I'm glad I did it and I'm pleased I could be a stand-in for someone who desperately wanted to bethere but couldn't.
R.I.P. Jason Palmer, you were much loved in life and will be greatly missed in your passing.

medic09 · « **Reply #24 on:** May 25, 2010, 08:39:51 PM »

You've done well, Hush. Really well. Thank you. For the sake of all human dignity; especially those who serve and protect civil society.

my78k · « **Reply #25 on:** May 25, 2010, 09:16:50 PM »

I'm only just seeing this now Hush. My sympathies to all affected by this tragedy!

I have often said that anyone acting in the line of service deserves our respect and thanks and we shouldn't have to wait for one to meet with an unfortunate end to recognize this but so often it is the case. At least in this case you were able to ensure he got the respect he deserves!

To be honest, I have never understood correction officers! I mean no disrespect in any way by that. Quite the opposite really....I mean police etc have so many other rewards in their jobs but dealing with the worst of the worst day in and day out can't be all that rewarding! I'm not sure why you guys do it but I am sure damn glad you do...

Dennis

BobbyR · « **Reply #26 on:** May 26, 2010, 07:06:31 AM »

Quote from: medic09 on May 25, 2010, 08:39:51 PM

You've done well, Hush. Really well. Thank you. For the sake of all human dignity; especially those who serve and protect civil society.

Hear Hear!!!!!!!!!!!

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Author Topic: A workmates death (Read 3314 times)

Lee Cool