Brad Turney: Tributes flow for youth prison officer who died at Reiby Youth Justice Centre

A staff member who died after becoming unwell while working at a youth jail near Campbelltown has been described as a “brilliant father and partner”.

Tributes are flowing for a young father of five who passed away just one day after his birthday while working at a Macarthur jail.

Bradley Turney, known to many as Brad, was employed as a prison officer at the Reiby Youth Justice Centre when he became unwell during a shift on February 8.

He was transported to hospital, but died later that same day. The father of five, three boys and two girls, had just turned 35 on February 7.

A GoFundMe has been started by one of Mr Turney’s friends, Josh Gill, to help support his family.

“Brad was a brilliant father and partner and spoke about his family with soo much love,” Mr Gill wrote on the GoFundMe page.

“He and his partner Ash were in the process of building their dream home.

“It is impossible to imagine the heartbreak and incredible sadness and pain that Ash and the children are going through right now!”

A Youth Justice officer who worked alongside Turney described him as “social, kind and an avid weekend footy player”.

“He was an incredibly social guy,” his colleague said.

“He and his kids were avid footy players, he loved watching his kids do weekend sport.”

Turney’s colleague said he survived by a loving young family, “which makes his passing even more tragic”.

Despite being a shift supervisor, it is understood Mr Turney stepped in to assist officers when responding to the incident.

“He would never hesitate to support his mates,” his colleague, who did not wish to be named, said.

“We have three or four incidents a day. And in this industry, no matter your position, it is your responsibility to jump in to defuse a situation.

“It is one of those jobs, but it should never have take a father from his children.”

Alex Melville, the secretary of the Campbelltown City Rugby League Football Club, paid tribute to Mr Turney who was the club’s “very popular” Ladies League Tag assistant coach.

He said it was a “tragic loss” and a “life taken too soon”.

“Brad was a tremendous asset to our club and the broader community,” Mr Melville said.

“He was a dedicated family man and an excellent coach and mentor to all our players.”

In a social media post, the club said it was a “terrible tragedy”.

“A dedicated family man, a massive asset to our club, Brad was also a handy footballer with The Oaks and Thirlmere,” the post read.

His family have asked community members to make donations to HeartKids in his honour.