PARTNERS — Wayne Spence poses with his dog, Ikar, a specially trained guard dog he purchased from the Czech Republic for protection.

Threats put parole officer on edge

By DARCY WELLS
The dangers involved in being a state parole officer are often underestimated according to Long Island PO and PEF Executive Board Member Wayne Spence, who knows first hand the true hazards of the job.

“A threat is not unusual in my line of work,” Spence said.

But one particular threat this past June was followed by an unusual series of events that now has Spence looking over his shoulder and fearing for his family’s safety as well as his own.

“It was in late June when I got a call about one of my parolees harassing neighbors with his Harley Davidson motorcycle,” he said.

“He lost his driving privileges as a result of a prior parole violation.”

“He was terrorizing these people, telling them he would kill anyone who called the cops.”

Spence set up surveillance with local police and a short time later the parolee was spotted revving up his motorcycle.

“The threat came as we were handcuffing him,” Spence said.

“He looked right at me and said, ‘N... if I ever see you in my neighborhood again, I’ll put a bullet in your head. You’ll never see it coming.’”

According to Spence, the parolee was originally locked-up for accepting money to kill a grand jury witness.

“He was found with a 9 mm handgun equipped with a silencer on the way to the witness’ home and was arrested,” Spence said.

It was the violent nature of the crime that put him in the special offenders unit assigned to Spence.

Under the advisement of his supervisor, Spence filled out a threat memo with more detail than local police provided.

“They told me this parolee continued with the threats against me all the way to the parole office,” he said.

Spence said he put the incident behind him until three months later when his neighbor turned up dead.

“I was returning home with my two young children when I heard my neighbor screaming,” he said.

“I put the kids in my house and ran next door where I saw her boyfriend lying dead in a pool of blood, three bullets in his back.”

Until recently, Spence relied on his gun and badge as protection. Now, Ikar, a specially trained guard dog from the Czech Republic, and his prayers are his backup.

“I took $4,000 from my children’s college saving account to purchase the dog,” Spence said. “That’s how serious I took this threat.”

Spence is on suspension from his job. It’s a suspension he’s fighting and one he is convinced is in retaliation for speaking publicly about parole policies that prevent the proper supervision and placement of sex offenders.

“When I was suspended, they took my weapon,” Spence said.

“They knew about the threats against me, the murder next door and another incident involving a separate parolee spotted in a van sitting outside my house a few months after the murder,” he added.

“Local police had me install an alarm system for protection, and rumors from the jail were flying that the parolee was promising to go after me once he’s released in mid-March.”

The murder of his neighbor was resolved and Spence is now convinced it had nothing to do with the threats against him.

But he says the vulnerability he feels while out on suspension is real.

“My time is split fighting my suspension without pay, trying to figure out how to protect my family, replace my lost income and questioning just how thoroughly the Division of Parole investigated these threats against me.

“When I tuck my kids in bed at night, it’s them I worry about,” he said.

The Communicator March 2007

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Threats put parole office on edge

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