Family, Friends Remember Slain Corrections Officer

RIO GRANDE — It was 12 years ago when a local family had a loved one torn away from them.
Fred Baker was a father, husband, brother and son to his family as well as a friend to many others throughout Cape May County. Baker was also a senior corrections officer at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, Cumberland County where he was slain by an inmate on July 30, 1997.
Friends and family remember Baker as a loving man with a big heart who thought of others before himself.
Stephen Beverly, a black inmate serving time for assault, stabbed Baker to death after the officer told him that he was being separated from his cellmate and lover Favor Ali. Beverly admitted to going to the prison yard, digging up a shank, tightening the hood of his sweatshirt, returning to Baker and stabbing him in the back as he talked on the phone.
Beverly was charged with murder and faced the death penalty. In an effort to have his client’s charges reduced from murder to manslaughter, Beverly’s Public Defender Jorge Godoy decided to implement a “black rage defense,” a legal strategy that says environmental hardships can explain why a person commits a crime.
In the process of utilizing that defense, Godoy and prisoner testimony painted a picture of abuse and racism in the institution. The jury rejected the argument and convicted Beverly of first-degree murder, but did not sentence him to death during the penalty phase, opting instead for life in prison.
Despite the vindication of a guilty verdict, the defense strategy left a tarnish on the prison and Baker’s career there, but those who knew and loved him are aware that he worked in a dangerous environment every day and prefer remember him as they do.
His wife Kelly Baker-O’Brien, who still resides in Rio Grande, laughs as she remembers her husband trying to learn to play “Amazing Grace.”
“I can recall Fred trying to learn this song on his practice chanter, screeching and squeaking, in high hopes of playing it on the bag pipes,” she said. “It is one of the many stories of laughter, heartache and sorrow that is shared amongst Fred’s family and friends and co-workers.”
A recent ceremony honoring the anniversary of Baker’s death started with the presentation of colors by the prison’s Honor Guard, of which Baker was a member. Baker-O’Brien smiles as she recalls practicing with her husband the steps to “changing of the guard.”
She said the weather at the ceremony, held on July 30 at the prison, was “again a beautiful summer day.”
“The skies were a bright blue, fluffy white clouds and a warm breeze. Just like that day…when Fred was killed.”
Edward Szubski, a retired lieutenant from Bayside, said Baker used to remind him of the actor John Candy — a big guy who “always smiled and always seemed to just make everyone else smile when they saw him.”
Szubski was in charge of the prison’s Honor Guard and remembers when Baker asked him join.
“One of the main criteria I had was a high degree of professionalism, physical fitness and pride in the way one looked in and wore the uniform,” Szubski said. “Fred was a ‘Big’ man and therein lay my problem with Fred’s request to be placed on the Honor Guard.”
Szubski told Baker that the Honor Guard members were often not paid and had to attend funeral ceremonies, so he asked Baker why he wanted to join. Baker laughed and replied, “Well it’s not because I look good in the uniform.”
Instead, Baker told the lieutenant that he wanted to help show families of the officers who died that the officer was someone special and maybe in some way provide the families with some comfort and pride in the officer they had lost.
As a young officer, Szubski’s father passed away and the Honor Guard came to his funeral.
“The impression it made on my family made an even greater impression on me, so upon returning to work I immediately joined the Honor Guard,” Szubski said. “So that I could make another officers’ family feel as these men had made my family feel and these were basically the same reasons that Fred had just given me for joining.”
“I told Fred that he would have to cut down on the wings and beer a bit and try to lose a couple of pounds, but in the meantime, he needed go out and buy his full dress uniform…there was that smile again.”
A Herald story published following his death noted that Baker “was remembered as a man who volunteered his time in the service of others.” The story also said he enjoyed “fishing with his son, who hopes to some day become a member of the New Jersey State Police.”
Jason Baker was 14-years-old at the time of his father’s murder. He was able to accomplish the goal he made 10 years earlier and follow in his dad’s footsteps in law enforcement by graduating from the State Police Academy on Aug. 24, 2007.
“We each have our own unique memories of Fred and also the manner in which we honor him,” said a longtime family friend Bob Stanton. “Each year, on the anniversary date, I wear a pin in honor of Fred’s service and friendship on my uniform. Proud to have known him…sad that he is no longer with us.”
Stanton, whose family used to vacation with the Bakers, remembers not being able to return to the Pocono rental they shared.
“Memories of Fred were so strong that it was impossible to return,” he said. But the familes still vacation together in Vermont now, where they continue to practice “Wasted Wednesdays” watching “Heartbreak Ridge” just like Baker used to enjoy.
Stanton knows that Baker would be so proud of his children.
“Proud of Jason as a NJSP Trooper and Dara (daughter) an accomplished horse rider growing from little girl to young woman,” he said.
Cindy Numbers, Fred’s older sister, remembers him as a “big bear” who was like a second father to her children.
“My kids loved him,” she said. “He was so good-hearted and always playing and goofing around with them.”
“He will always be remembered and always missed,” she added.
For Numbers, something good has come from this tragedy. She started a new career with the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation, a non-profit agency that helps the families of corrections officers killed in line of duty or affected by catastrophic events.
She said the work has made it possible for her to help families in similar situations to hers as well as learn more about the difficult environment in prisons.
Baker is one of 10 state corrections officers listed as killed in the line of duty on the Officer Down Memorial Page (opmd.org). When officers die, the Web site says they’ve “ended their watch.”
Others include:
• Deputy Keeper James B. Lippincott ended his watch on March 2, 1894. He was shot and killed by an inmate attempting to escape from Trenton State Prison (now known as New Jersey State Prison.)
• Deputy Keeper Joseph H. Tinney ended his watch on Feb. 4, 1928. He was shot and killed by inmates attempting to escape from the state prison in Trenton.
• Deputy Keeper Frank Butcher ended his watch on March 13, 1930. He was shot and killed by an inmate who was attempting to escape from the state prison in Trenton.
• Corrections Officer Victor Veteritto ended his watch on Feb. 28, 1951. He was stabbed in the neck by an inmate during a transport from the Bergen County Courthouse to the state prison in Trenton.
• Corrections Officer Donald Hiles ended his watch on March 8, 1968. He was attacked and fatally stabbed in the back with a pitchfork while on duty at the Bayside State Prison.
• Corrections Officer George Pazkowski ended his watch on Aug. 8, 1969. While transporting prisoners from Yardville State Reformatory to Union County Courthouse, Pazkowski was shot and killed as he and two other officers attempted to apprehend bank robbers who they observed exiting a bank.
• Corrections Sergeant Donald Bourne ended his watch on Feb. 28, 1972. He was killed when an inmate stabbed him as he guarded mess hall.
• Corrections Sergeant Michael Price ended his watch on April 19, 2000. He died after suffering a heart attack while struggling with an inmate at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Yardville.
• Senior Corrections Officer Wayne Robert Clark ended his watch on Jan. 10, 2006. He was killed in an automobile accident as he was returning to Riverfront State Prison in Camden from DOC headquarters in Trenton.
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com