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| Prisoner fires shots at hospital after grabbing officer's gun |
| By Philadelphia Daily News |
| Published: 04/23/2004 |
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Bullets flew in Frankford Hospital in Philadelphi, Pa., yesterday when a prisoner snatched a gun from a corrections officer and started firing. Eric Holley, 45, grabbed the .357 revolver when officer Alice Govozdean unshackled him at about 9 a.m. so he could use the restroom, police said. Holley assaulted Govozdean and took the weapon. He fired three shots, but didn't hit anybody in the hospital, on Frankford Avenue near Wakeling Street, police said. A hospital orderly helped wrestle Holley to the ground. He was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, robbery and related charges, police said. Prisons Commissioner Leon A. King said Govozdean and another officer, who was also supposed to be supervising Holley, have been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. "This was an unacceptable failure on the part of correctional staff who were attending inmate Eric Holley at Frankford Hospital," King said. "Preliminary investigation suggests that prison procedures regarding the use of restraints were not followed." King also said, "We apologize to hospital staff and the public for this, and we are taking a number of steps to assure Frankford Hospital and the public that we can maintain the safety and security of open wards in community settings." Holley, of West Philadelphia, was arrested Tuesday at a hearing for carrying an illegal gun on a SEPTA bus. It was not known why he needed hospital treatment. Hospital spokeswoman Maria Cerceo Slade said this was the first such violent incident in the hospital. There are often two or three prisoners in Frankford Hospital, according to a Philadelphia Prisons press release. Typically these prisoners are very ill and are each guarded round the clock by two officers. |
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