While not revealing the details of an internal investigation into the January prison break, Superintendent Dr. Elliston Rahming testified in a coroner’s inquest on Thursday that the names of certain prison officers have been forwarded to police in line with recommendations of the report.
The inquest is being held into the deaths of prison officer, Corporal Dion Bowles, and inmate, Neil Brown, who were killed in the incident.
While prison and government officials have remained tightlipped on the details of the 36-page report, Dr. Rahming told the court that the “entire package” has been forwarded to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Mark Wilson.
According to Dr. Rahming, Mr. Wilson has indicated that portions of the report will be made public.
But the court heard no specific timeline.
Thursday was the first time the coroner and the prosecution saw the report.
When Coroner Linda Virgill questioned whether officers who were on duty during the time of the prison break were still employed at the prison, Dr. Rahming testified that this was the case in some instances.
He said in the case of officers like Sergeant Stephen Sands, there were transfers.
Coroner Virgill then asked whether the men should have been suspended.
Dr. Rahming responded, “If wrongdoing comes to light, suspension would be an understatement. I would have no need for that officer. If a prison officer is compromised, or corrupt, we would need to do something about him.”
The superintendent also admitted to some glaring deficiencies at Her Majesty’s Prison that may have aided in the escape of Brown, Barry Parcoi, Forrester Bowe Jr. and Corey Hepburn.
According to Dr. Rahming, while it is the practice for prison officers to bring cell phones into the Fox Hill facility, “this is against policy.”
He said this was the reason why he has ordered a cellular telephone killing device, as it became very difficulty to determine whether an officer left the compound with the phone.
When pressed, Dr. Rahming also told the court that when it comes to passing messages from one inmate to another, all written work is supposed to be seen by an officer.
“He (the officer) would determine whether it is okay to pass it,” he said.
Parcoi testified earlier on in the inquest that the inmates received notes by throwing the pieces of paper on the ground and dragging them into their cells.
Dr. Rahming admitted that enforcing the prison’s policy on this particular matter was not so much a matter of there being insufficient officers as opposed to simply complacency.
According to the prison superintendent, while the prison should have about 700 officers, at present there are only 409 guarding 1,510 prison inmates.
But the overriding question from both Bowe’s brother, Greg Bowe, and Coroner Virgill was how it is that hacksaw blades were found on Brown, Bowe and Parcoi and in cells.
“In a wide variety of ways it is possible for a family member upon visiting an inmate to place it in the front cover of a book and if an officer is not very careful during the search, the inmate could find it,” Dr. Rahming explained.
“It is highly unlikely, but an inmate going out to the exercise yard could also find it or an officer can bring it in.”
But Dr. Rahming said he had no idea when the inmates would have gotten hacksaw blades and when they would have started cutting their cell bars to escape.
“We run a professional organization, despite its shortcomings,” the prison head said.
“Officers work very hard to carry out the policy. If you pose a question as to the possibilities, the answers are almost infinite, but I know one thing, there is no plumbing in Maximum Security, so there would be no reason to have a hacksaw blade.”
Coroner Virgill then asked what was being done to address this concern.
Dr. Rahming said upon assuming office 14 months ago, he created an Internal Affairs Unit that mounts searches on a sustained basis in collaboration with the police.
He said a canopy has also been constructed at the main gate of the Fox Hill facility so that everyone must go through two sets of screening devices – a walk through and a baggage scanner.
“Her Majesty’s Prison has an enviable record against breakouts,” Dr. Rahming said. “It is one of the finest in the world, but it is a prison and from time to time things are likely to go wrong, but our responsibility is to bring this to a bear minimum.”
He said furthermore, he has instructed that prisoner officers received 40 hours of training each year, a practice that was not in place prior to his arrival at the prison.
The superintendent’s much anticipated testimony came only minutes after the prison’s second in command, Acting Deputy Superintendent Charles Rolle, took the stand.
Mr. Rolle was the senior officer on the scene once three of the four inmates were recaptured in the Yamacraw Road Hill area.
He admitted to the court that of the three former escapees, he most focused on Parcoi.
“He wanted to get up, but I placed my foot on him-He wanted to talk to me, [saying] that he was going to tell me what happened, but I really wasn’t in the mood for that,” Mr. Rolle said.
But when pressed on why his attention was mainly on that particular inmate, he told the court that he had once recommended that Parcoi be given a chance based on his good behavior after spending some 17 years in Maximum Security.
“I approached the superintendent and against all odds, the superintendent agreed with me and sent him to Medium Security, but after two years, he escaped,” he said.
Mr. Rolle said upon seeing Parcoi among the group recaptured, he was upset but not angry. He denied that he kicked and stomped the inmate as Parcoi had testified.
When grilled on his responsibilities at the scene, he further admitted that while both Parcoi and Bowe were searched after their recapture, he did not ensure that Brown was searched before placed on the prison bus.
Coroner Virgill then asked the witness about policies and procedures at the prison, particularly as they relate to manpower.
Mr. Rolle told the court that while he was “comfortable” with the number officers working the Maximum Security wing at the time of the escape, he agreed it was inadequate.
He explained that while the law dictates that there should be two officers to each condemned man, the prison does not have the manpower. According to the witness, there are 12 officers to 700 inmates on that wing.
Jurors also heard that at the time of the prison break, there was no policy in place in the case of an escape.
Coroner Virgill asked whether there are plans to revamp or put in place a mini hospital with trained personnel, a request Mr. Rolle said has already been made.
He also admitted that when it came the prison’s security cameras being so easily accessible to inmates, “we learnt a lesson there.”
“There are a lot of things we have to correct,” Mr. Rolle said.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
