By C1 Staff
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Matt Freeburg can clearly remember the day his correctional officer career ended.
It was the same day CO Ron ‘RJ’ Johnson lost his life, reports Keloland.
Two inmates – Rodney Berget and Eric Robert – had concocted a plan to walk out of the prison, which involved killing Johnson and stealing his uniform. But what they didn’t count on was finding Freeburg in the sally port area.
When he confronted the inmates after they couldn’t provide proper identification, they attacked him.
“For a little bit there, I was at a point I thought it might be the spot where it comes to an end right there doing that,” he says of the event. He kept fighting, and was able to hold the inmates back until other officers responded to the incident.
Four years later, he’s still dealing with the trauma.
“Tried different coping mechanisms and then it eventually came to where I decided that separating was probably the best decision to try and move forward,” he said.
Sleepless nights and nightmares forced him to quit his job at the jail.
“It’s so vivid. It felt like you were right back there again and you’d wake right back up.”
He sought out counseling, which helped, but the attack that left him physically and emotionally scarred haunts him to this day.
Now he needs background noise in his apartment to tell him he’s not alone.
“The noise feels like you’re not the only one in there and people you hear are not there to hurt you, so you can sleep easier.”
The turnover rate in the South Dakota Department of Corrections is high, but Secretary Dennis Kaemingk said the department is working to better physically and mentally screen potential hires to keep people working for the department longer.
Freeburg said lowering the turnover ratio would help improve safety for everyone. He said he’d still be working at the prison if not for the attack.
“As the inmates learn stuff, they tell each other, so they’re continuously learning and that knowledge stays there. Prison guards, you got to start over every time as people leave.”
Now he works as a production manager for John Morrell, and is going to school, studying forensic investigations.