CORRECTIONS
No guns, no glory,
just guts
On the morning of July 18, as he readied him-
self for work, Officer Joseph Gomm had no idea it
would be the last day he would see the sun rise in
Minnesota. While at work, armed with only pep-
per spray and a radio, the 45-year-old officer was
stabbed and then beaten to death with a hammer
by a convicted murderer at Minnesota’s Stillwater
facility.
Officer Gomm, a 16-year veteran, was the first
BRIAN
correctional officer to be murdered by an inmate
DAWE
in the state. Every officer in Minnesota will be af-
fected by his death. This tragedy will be a part of
their daily thoughts for months to come; a few may even re-
sign and many more will consider doing likewise. Those who
responded, or were in close proximity during the incident, will
have nightmares and flashbacks. As the days go by, the fam-
ilies of every correctional officer in the state will have many
restless nights waiting and praying that their loved one won’t
be next all the while knowing that, inevitably, there will be a
“next.” An officer returning home from his shift might be sur-
prised at the uproar caused by being five minutes late.
The impact of Officer Gomm’s death won’t only be felt in
Minnesota. Every day more than 400,000 of us claim our keys
and pass through the sally port. On average, one of us doesn’t
go home once a month. This is the harsh reality of the job cor-
rectional officers do. The violence we see and hear about daily
has a cumulative effect on us; it’s the basis of our 34 percent
PTSD and high suicide rates.
When you throw a pebble in a pool you can see the ripple ef-
fect. In our profession, when an officer is murdered the emo-
tional ripple reaches not only those immediately impacted —
it affects all of us, our families and friends. We don’t often think
about the concern it creates in our loved ones but it’s just as
real for them as it is for us. It may even be worse for them be-
cause we at least have some control over our situation, while
they can only wait and hope that we will walk through that
door in one piece.
I’m writing this on July 19, less than 24 hours since Officer
Gomm was murdered. Officers across the nation went to work
again today, as they will tomorrow. Ninety-nine percent of
them will be “armed” like Officer Gomm, with just some pep-
per spray and a radio. Most will be working in understaffed fa-
cilities. Many will not have had any real training since attend-
ing the academy. Most won’t have had roll ca