There’s a certain sick feeling you get when you know things could go from bad to worse and a floodgate of emotions can overtake your mind in a split second.  As I entered the jail pod God must have had my back because all the inmates bolted directly to their cells without any confrontation.  He answers prayers!  It was a strange wake up call and put a new perspective on my strategy as a detention officer.

Initially my tactic was to make all the inmates think I was crazy – and give them a bit to think about in case they did want to throw down.  I would run into the pods, jump up on the tables and start playing air guitar all while singing tunes from KISS to Garth Brooks at 2 a.m.  I would call them on their intercoms and act as though I were running a nightly call in show. Sometimes I would walk in the pod, turn around and leave, and come back again or just talk trash…all mind games to stay on their ‘level’.

God however, had another plan, and started to work on my heart and soul.

After a few weeks acting like a nut, God convinced me to change and try another approach.  Instead of being a cocky, lunatic of a detention officer I started to look at my job a little like a ministry.  I began to pray for the inmates and I let them know it.  I started to be real and talk with some of them and told them that I wasn’t any better than they were and that the only difference is that I didn’t get busted by the police.  After all how could I judge them when I had been a drug addict, an alcoholic, and done way more than my share of bad things before Jesus changed my life?  I also started to listen; listen to their pain and their stories.

The bad thing is you have to be extremely careful.  You cannot let your guard down because inmates will find a weakness and exploit it.  They can be buddy-like one minute and stab you in the back the next.  Don’t give them too much information or it will come back to haunt you.  Regardless, I did develop a reputation as a cool dude and some of the prisoners started to respect me because I respected them – and refusing to treat them like an animal as some other guards did.

This was how I caught wind of a potential riot and being a potential target…