2 murderers escape prison1/12/2024 ![]() The second officer, saying he thought the bus had crashed, jumped out the back and realized there was an escape attempt. The officer managed to stop the bus, and in a scuffle, stumbled outside the bus with Lopez fighting over the gun, he told investigators. ![]() He slid into the driving compartment, grabbed the officer’s gun and stabbed him, the review said. Lopez quickly freed himself from his improperly placed restraints and spent about an hour and a half cutting his way through the metal caging to the driver’s compartment. Not properly searched before the ride, Lopez climbed aboard with two makeshift metal weapons and what resembled a handcuff key in his mouth, other prisoners told investigators. And the Hughes Unit has fewer officers than in April, dropping from 57% staffed before the escape to 50%, with 275 open officer positions in a prison for nearly 3,000 men. In October, 20 prisons were less than 50% staffed, according to prison data. The number of officers has grown slightly since the raise, according to TDCJ records, with prisons staffed at 71% in October, compared with April’s 68%.īut understaffing is still dire, especially at some large prisons. TDCJ has recognized its staffing crisis, pushing to increase recruitment and retention by offering sign-on bonuses and, this April, bumping salaries by 15%, similar to actions taken to address the staffing crisis within the state’s juvenile prisons. Short-staffing has been blamed for increased assaults on officers and prisoners, as well as malnourishment and even harsher living and working conditions. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which largely hold migrants accused only of trespassing on private property. Since last summer, about 300 prison officers have also been working at two units now being used as state-run jails for Gov. TDCJ has long struggled against dangerous, chronic understaffing, but the number of officers reached critical lows during the pandemic. “This contributed to establishing a weakened security environment that better facilitated inmate Lopez’s escape.” “These staff shortages required the remaining staff to carry a heavier workload and increased the amount of overtime they were assigned,” CGL wrote. The Hughes Unit in Gatesville, where Lopez lived, was 57% staffed. Over two years, CGL stated, Texas prison officer vacancies grew from about 4,300 to more than 7,600 in April, the month before Lopez’s escape, with Texas’ prisons only about 68% staffed. Short-staffing has long plagued the agency and been exacerbated in recent years. Some were fired, she said others received probation or suspension.īut the seemingly routine bypassing of crucial security measures at the Hughes Unit was not a failure of only the employees, according to CGL. Although they did not investigate other facilities, the consultants said it was possible such failures were occurring throughout the state’s 100 prisons.Īfter the escape, prison spokesperson Amanda Hernandez said Friday, three employees resigned, and 15 others were disciplined. CGL, the consulting group, said staff at the prison “had become complacent, and circumvented security procedures in favor of hastily completing responsibilities in a cursory manner.” The group said the failures seemed routine.
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