UPDATE: 2 Dauphin County Prison Corrections Officers Asleep While Guarding Inmate at Hospital Are Terminated

Prison (1)

Two Dauphin County Prison corrections officers have been terminated after officials determined they were sleeping while guarding an inmate at UPMC Harrisburg hospital.

The incident happened on Dec. 3. Prison officials became aware of what happened a day later.

The corrections officers were initially suspended. They were terminated Thursday afternoon.

“We thoroughly reviewed the circumstances of the incident and determined the officers’ behavior was wholly unacceptable,” Prison Warden Gregory Briggs said. “We continue to place accountability at the forefront of all aspects of prison operations reform.”

The warden said the incident prompted at least three other substantial changes:

- Supervising officers – lieutenants all the way up to the warden – have been performing frequent spot checks at hospitals to ensure all procedures are being followed.

- Transport units were restructured so only officers vetted by supervising officers will go on transports.

- Staff training is in place for January on inmate transportation practices. An outside consultant, C2 Tactical, will conduct the training. Staff will also be trained next month on use-of-force practices; those policies are being reviewed and revised.

Regarding the Dec. 3 incident, the inmate under guard did not escape.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brett Hambright, Press Secretary, 717-780-6311; bhambright@dauphinc.org.