DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from Dec. 7.
Two Dauphin County Prison guards were terminated Thursday after falling asleep while guarding an inmate at UPMC Harrisburg hospital earlier this month.
The incident happened on Dec. 3 and was caught on camera when a photo surfaced showing the two guards apparently asleep in chairs next to an inmate in the waiting area.
“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 inmate in the Dec. 3 incident did not escape, according to Dauphin County spokesman Brett Hambright.
Dauphin County officials have not publicly identified the guards.
The Dauphin County Prison 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.
In November, two other Dauphin County prison guards resigned after a female inmate they were guarding escaped from UPMC Harrisburg hospital. The woman was later taken into custody.