Sad farewell to respected Umbilo cop

UMBILO police paid tribute to colleague and friend, Sergeant Quinton Rodie at a memorial service on Friday, 12 October.

Sgt Rodie, a highly respected police officer at Umbilo SAPS, passed away suddenly after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday, 10 October while at home with his wife Merise, daughters Shannon and Caitlyn and son Caleb.

Joining his bereaved family at the service were members of SAPS, Cluster members and representatives from the local community forums and residents who had worked closely with Sgt Rodie.

Speaking at the service, station commander Col John Romer, said it had been a shock to receive the call at 12.30am on Thursday to hear Rodie had passed away, and that he was still trying to absorb the conversation.

“I am still in total shock. It doesn’t take long to get to know members who mean so much. From day one I could see Rodie was one of those old-fashioned policemen who gave his life to service. Rodie was exceptional and was a committed member at the station,” he said.

Sgt Rodie’s commander, Capt David said Rodie had started his career at Durban Harbour on 7 February 2000 and joined the station in 2002, working first in the Community Service Centre, before moving on to crime prevention in 2003.

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He was later appointed sector manager where David had the honour and privilege to work closely with him.

“He was a man of God and had integrity. He knew when to be hard and when to be soft. He was a no-nonsense man when it came to criminals and the community was his life blood. He would use his personal time and private vehicle to ensure the community in his sector was satisfied, going beyond the line of duty. He was a good listener and quick learner and was street smart. When it came to family duties he never questioned his responsibility and his family meant a great deal to him. He will leave a void at the station and will be sorely missed,” he said.

Heather Rorick from the Bulwer Safety and Urban Regeneration Forum said it was a privilege to get to know and work with Sgt Rodie over the many years.

“Rodie was well liked and respected for all his hard work, dedication and strictly by the book attitude, and his calm and respectful manner when dealing with any situation. He would always go out of his way and beyond his call of duty to assist in any way he could. We worked together on community projects and had many good laughs, tense moments and lots of sad situations, yet Rodie always was calm and encouraging and always looking for the positive in any situation. His faith in God, his love for his family, respect for his colleagues and fellow man and his dedication as a policeman made Rodie the amazing person we all knew him to be,” she said.

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Ian Campbell-Gillies from the Umbilo Business Forum said he had worked closely with Rodie and that the passing of this man who was clearly a legend policeman who had a vital role in building the community was not only a loss to his family but to the community as well.

Sgt Hilton Julie, said he knew Rodie as a man of God. “He was a family man and if you met Quinton, you met the real person,” he said.

Colleague and good friend, W/O Desmond Panayan, said he and Rodie went back a long way and that working as a team they had become brothers.

“He was beyond reproach, honest and intense, we shared everything. I could always rely on him and he always had a plan. A week ago we were talking about my retirement next November and the fact that he would need to find a new partner who would need to be trained to deal with him, but now I’m looking for one. Rodie had big shoes that no one is going to be able to fill,” he said.

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