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| Review: Texas Escapee Left Via Front Gate |
| By Dallas Morning News |
| Published: 01/03/2003 |
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A convicted murderer who recently escaped from an Abilene-area prison walked out the front gates after correctional officers failed to recognize that he was an inmate, according to a review of the incident. The 'Serious Incident Review' made public recently detailed how John William Roland III, wearing the uniform of an officer he had assaulted, was able get out of the maximum-security Robertson Unit before dawn on Feb. 17. It also made recommendations to improve security. Doug Dretke, deputy director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's institutional division, said problems identified in the review are being addressed, including steps to 'enhance our identification process.' After luring Sgt. Wesley Hurt to a secluded area in the prison by offering to show him where a stash of marijuana was hidden, Mr. Roland, 33, struck the veteran officer repeatedly with a rawhide mallet that had been taken from a prison craft shop, authorities said. Prison officials reported that Mr. Roland then dressed in Sgt. Hurt's uniform and flashed his identification card at correctional officers in the prison's 'central control' checkpoint and at the front gate. Once outside, Mr. Roland, who'd taken Sgt. Hurt's keys and wallet, drove off in Sgt. Hurt's pickup. 'Several elements played a role in Offender Roland's escape from custody, but the failure to make a positive identification ... when he exited through the Central Control Picket and the 13 Building Front Gate Picket was the ultimate contributing factor,' the review concluded. If the correctional officers at those posts had followed established procedures, the report stated, 'this escape should have been prevented.' Mr. Dretke said that, based on the review, 'we are adding a very specific procedure to help ensure positive identification.' Correctional officers at checkpoints, he said, will be required to physically examine identification cards, and the person seeking to pass will be required to remove hats and sunglasses 'to facilitate the identification process.' Mr. Dretke said that a work group was looking at how vehicle keys could be kept out of the hands of inmates, perhaps by prohibiting prison staff from carrying personal vehicle keys beyond the central control checkpoint. Prison officials said that no decision had been made as to whether correctional officers involved in the incident would face disciplinary action. In addition to the failure to identify Mr. Roland as an inmate before he walked out of the Robertson Unit, the review also identified other security lapses. Among them: Mr. Roland's ability to remove the mallet and a pair of 8-inch lineman pliers from a prison craft shop without being detected. 'In our craft shops, we have a very specific policy that when offenders exit, they will be fully and thoroughly strip-searched,' Mr. Dretke said. 'And obviously that didn't occur.' The review also took issue with Sgt. Hurt's decision to conduct the search for contraband with Mr. Roland present, 'not standard practice.' It cited a training document that states: 'Officers should not allow themselves to be 'deceived' by an offender in a search situation by allowing the offender to distract them.' The investigation found evidence that Mr. Roland's escape was not a spur-of-the-moment act. Mr. Roland 'planned his escape with more than one officer as possible targets' and chose potential victims according to their size and appearance. 'Hurt, man, I am sorry,' he reportedly told the injured officer. 'I did not want to do it to you, but you are my size.' Mr. Roland also told Sgt. Hurt that he knew where his vehicle was. Brian Olsen, executive director of the Texas chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents correctional officers, said that Mr. Roland's escape demonstrated 'some definite breakdowns' in security. He suggested that a contributing factor may have been the level of training and experience of Texas correctional officers. Texas' prison system is grappling both with a shortage of officers and the loss of experienced officers to attrition. 'It's starting to get better, but very slowly,' Mr. Olsen said. |
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