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| Fla. Officer Killed in Escape Attempt |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/13/2003 |
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A female prison officer was attacked and killed at the Charlotte Correctional Institution during an escape attempt, a state prison spokesman said Thursday. Darla Lathrem, 38, died Wednesday night at the prison, Department of Corrections spokesman Sterling Ivey said. Lathrem, who had worked at the prison since last June, was supervising five inmates on a construction detail inside the facility when she was assaulted. Two of the inmates on the detail were injured, and the other three then tried to escape, Ivey said. Two of them were captured between the facility and the inner perimeter fence. The third was caught between the inner and outer perimeter fences, Ivey said. The two injured inmates were taken to Lee Memorial Hospital. Their injuries were not immediately known. Officials were investigating reports that the two inmates were attacked and beaten by the three escapees for not participating in the jailbreak, Ivey said. The construction detail was putting the final touches on a new dormitory, he said, and the workers had access to numerous tools, including hammers and screwdrivers. No other officers were injured, Ivey said. Dozens of police officers responded to the prison after reports of the attack and attempted jailbreak at about 10 p.m. They set up checkpoints and searched cars on nearby U.S. 41 and Interstate 75. Canine units were on the scene, and a Charlotte County Sheriff's Department helicopter searched the area with a floodlight. About an hour later, after conducting a head count, corrections officers reported that all prisoners were accounted for and called off the search. The facility remains in lockdown, Ivey said, and most prisoners are confined to their cells. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating Lathrem's death, the first officer fatality at the facility. The Department of Corrections is conducting a parallel investigation into the prison's policies and procedures, Ivey said. The Charlotte Correctional Institution houses more than 1,000 prisoners, and has more than 400 people on staff. Ivey said there were 31 officers on duty at the time of the attack. |
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