It is with great honor that I nominate Detention Officer Thomasina “TJ” Watts as our Professional Employee of the Month.
In November 2021, Fremont Detention Officers added transportation of prisoners to Santa Rita to their duties. The transition required extensive training with less-lethal tools, body-worn cameras, police radio transmissions, and prisoner transport operations. Considering our jail staff, some with over twenty years of service had never transported prisoners, the transition brought concerns to our detention officers. I had the opportunity to attend the final training day prior to implementation and noted Detention Officer Thomasina Watts utilized her experience as a Fremont Police Reserve Officer to assist her teammates in an extremely positive manner. I had conversations with Lieutenant Shadle and Detention Supervisors Caguyong and Forsberg about Thomasina’s commitment to the success of our operations and her teammates and they shared the following:
Lt. Shadle: “We started the transport officer transition process as a unit in January of 2019. It was obvious T.J. Watts was totally engaged from the beginning and offered any and all help via her expertise as a level 1 Police Reserve. During several trainings she recognized that some of her co-workers may be absent, so she offered to help with extra hours. T.J. came to work numerous times on her days off to help guide her teammates with the transition. She did this by taking the lead as they transported prisoners to Santa Rita. She continually offered ideas and explained her experiences as a seasoned transportation officer in a manner that was professional and courteous. She was extremely approachable and helpful as she helped mentor her co-workers. She was very encouraging and provided stability during the initial transitional phases.”
Detention Supervisor Caguyong: “At the onset of implementing the transport program, TJ assisted jail staff by taking the lead when transporting prisoners to Santa Rita and guided and assisted staff with the intake process. TJ took it upon herself to drive some D/O’s to Santa Rita who were unable to attend the training and walked them through the intake process. TJ shared her knowledge as a Reserve Officer with the nuances of the proper use of the police radio and Watch Guard body-worn cameras. TJ assisted the transport operation by volunteering to transport difficult prisoners and offered to work overtime to help the incoming shift. TJ significantly reduced some of transport staff’s anxiety transporting, including myself, by passing on her knowledge and experience transporting prisoners as a Reserve Officer.”
Detention Supervisor Forsberg: “TJ has been willing to stay past her shift multiple times to help teach other D/O’s how to properly transport. TJ reviewed radio communications, how to place prisoners in the transport van, and how to book them at Santa Rita. TJ is always willing to be the first on a transport with another D/O to share her knowledge and best practices. TJ signed up for multiple overtime shifts during the start of transport to assist D/O’s on the opposite side with transporting. TJ demonstrated proficiency in transporting prisoners and as a team we can learn greatly from her experience.”
It is clear Thomasina is invested in the success of her teammates and has been a great coach and mentor during this transition and is worthy of being recognized as our Professional Employee of the Month.
Captain Frederick H. Bobbitt, Jr. #02464