.So after three long months of investigations and my program being put on hold I was informed by our school officer that a cell phone, 32mm magazine clip (missing 2 bullets with 5 bullets remaining in the clip) and a buck knife were discovered inside a plant container. An ounce of Marihuana was also discovered under a locked cabinet in a supply room. The same room the officers had been meeting each other on regular basis for their rendezvous. I wondered why the current school administration had not informed me of this, and I brought this subject up at our staff meeting. My colleagues were in shock when I repeated what our school officer said was found in the plant container. The colleague I had been admonishing for being myopic informed me that the phone contained a video as well, and was purchased by one of the officers he had seen leaving the supply room a little disheveled. Our new school secretary who was anything but professional blurted out, (to the chagrin of our new school principal) “it was a sex video!” From the secretary’s exacerbated tone and our new principal’s laughing acknowledgement I felt ill at ease.
.Now I was completely befuddled by these revelations. For how long was this known? I was on the administrative hot seat for the past three months and no one from our current administration had informed me of these findings. Our school officer being in the same position as me because of the contraband informed the group that he was just made aware of these facts a week ago and had informed me of the contraband found in the planter. He was just informed today that the video was a ménage a trois between the two officers often seen in the supply room together and a prisoners’ wife. The officers in the video both resigned before an investigation could be conducted on them. One of the officers had risen in rank and was seen as a department “golden child.” The ramifications of liability for the DOC were evident. The school principal informed us that the bullets missing from the 32 mm clip were found and that a gun was not smuggled into our facility. At the time I found this hard to believe. The motivation for the contraband was never discussed formally. The why, what, and when were left to speculation. In the DOC set ups occurred on a regular basis and it was assumed that’s what happened with these officers.
.I remembered what the instructors at the academy had taught us in new employee school. We would have more problems with staff than we would with prisoners. I was skeptical when they made this point. I began losing that skepticism the longer I taught for the department and began seeing staff compromised. I was made a Chief Union Steward by default ( nobody wanted the job) and I had volunteered. I began representing people who had been compromised far beyond my help. I would inform them to contact a lawyer and hope the department doesn’t prosecute. They didn’t appreciate the advice. All terminations could be grieved, but in light of the DOC’s willingness to prosecute, most defendants just resigned. I was a lousy union representative when it came to terminations. I told my employer they would eventually get someone killed. They waited until they had more than enough evidence that an employee was compromised and I informed them that in so doing, another innocent employee could be hurt. They wanted to “make their case” was often the response. In the ten terminations I had to represent while being a steward, not one fought to get their job back. The incriminating evidence was overwhelmingly not in their favor. I think the officers figured that out quickly, and left without letting the door hit them where the Good Lord split them. I don’t know what the department did in their case. The information was never shared with me. I just knew the house plant business I started 10 years ago was no more. My bubble burst. I would look for other opportunities to show case what my students could accomplish by completing the class.
To Be Continued…
Luke 1:31-33
MJ-Way 