A Dedicated Employee Is A Dedicated Employee

Should active duty civilian employees who die, from any cause, be provided some sort of honors ceremonies? Is so, what? If not, why not? Know the question gets even more complicated. Do civilian employees who wear a uniform, such as dispatchers, parking enforcement, desk officers, and jailors, deserve more consideration then those who don’t? Does a secretary deserve more consideration than a clerk? What about custodians and mechanics? Do managers deserve more than those who aren’t?  And the list goes on.

A dedicated employee is a dedicated employee, sworn or civilian. Although a full honors ceremony, rifle salute, Taps, and flag fold, may not be appropriate there are ceremonies that can be performed, and rightfully so. As with any funeral planning protocol, what the family wants is paramount. My experience has been that civilian employee’s families didn’t expect any sort of honors ceremonies performed at the service. However, when I discussed the potential to do specific ceremonies for them some accepted the offer and some declined the offer.

Remember, funerals are for the living. Families who declined the offer didn’t think a paramilitary style honors ceremony was appropriate for their funeral service. It was their decision. Those who accepted my offer were very appreciative and typically stated how working for the department was just as important to their deceased family member as any sworn member of the department.

For civilian department members who did not wear a uniform I typically offered a casket flag and flag fold by two honor guard members. The U.S. Flag Code permits any citizen to have a national flag as a casket flag. The fold and presentation symbolized the commitment and dedication the employee demonstrated to the department, its mission, objectives and values. If the employee wore a uniform, such as dispatchers, front desk officers, parking enforcement etc., I also offered Taps. I didn’t offer the rifle salute.

When it came to providing honors I classified all civilian employees as the same. Managers, supervisors, secretaries, clerks, custodians, mechanics etc. were all dedicated employees. I wasn’t going to impose a value or rating system on their importance to the department.

John CooleyRegardless if there would be any sort of honors ceremonies provided I always offered the family the same management and coordination service as I did for sworn. They always appreciated having someone manage the service and provide the support they needed to cope with the complexities involved. Typically only minimally aware of the paramilitary culture of the department they were often surprised at how the service was managed. Having the uniformed officer’s march in and sit in a predetermined location impressed them. Having the chief or the employee’s commanding officer give a eulogy was another unexpected part of the service. Having uniformed officers perform a hand salute as a final gesture of respect was something they would remember for ever. It’s often the little things that mean so much. \

So as funeral coordinators we need to be aware of the special ceremonies we can provide for our civilian employees. They deserve many of the “honors ceremonies” we typically reserve for our sworn officers. They deserve the support and management services of the funeral coordinator and agency. A dedicated employee is a dedicated employee.

John Cooley
Policefuneerals.com