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WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County prison inmate Timothy Darnelle Gilliam Jr. wasn’t in handcuffs before a Monday night altercation with corrections officer Kristopher Moules that ended in both of their deaths, raising questions about the use of restraints inside jails and prisons.

According to interviews with county and prison representatives, Gilliam, 27, was a general population inmate at the Water Street prison, and these inmates typically are allowed out on common area of their floor without restraints.

State law doesn’t allow prisons to keep all inmates on lockdown in their cells all the time and requires prudent use of handcuffs, shackles and restraint chairs, officials say.

In Monday’s incident, Gilliam and the others on his floor had just finished eating in the fifth-floor common area before the verbal exchange and physical encounter between Gilliam and Moules, 25, that resulted in both men crashing through an elevator door and falling several doors down the elevator shaft to their death.

County Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich said Thursday he can’t comment on the ongoing investigation of Monday’s incident, but confirmed general population inmates out on their blocks usually are not restrained unless they are committing an infraction, such as failing to comply with an order or exhibiting aggression or other threatening behavior.

County prison officials have long bemoaned a public misperception that general population inmates are locked in their cells most of the time.

Inmates caught committing an assault or other misconduct in prison get a hearing and may be locked in a restrictive housing unit, or “ RHU,” where they are placed in a single cell 23 hours a day.

But Rockovich said general population inmates usually are out of their cells most of the day from the time the cell doors open at 7 a.m. until they close at 10 p.m. In the regular routine, there are two daily lockdowns where inmates must return to their cells so prison workers can complete a head count, he said.

The law requires prisons to provide general population inmates with access to a myriad of counseling, support groups, medical care, showers, a law library and exercise, he said.

The prison was designed to hold 505 inmates and typically has been at or exceeding capacity in recent years. The prison inmate count was 507 Thursday, and another 181 were housed at a separate nearby building for minimal offenders.

“This is a small, little town with 700 people who must be fed, receive visits, exercise, attend court proceedings and religious services and have access to many other services 365 days a year,” Rockovich said.

Rockovich, who has worked at the prison since 1991, views his regular presence on all prison blocks part of his duties. Thursday was his fourth day in the new top job.

“My officers need to know that I’m here for them,” he said. “I plan on doing anything I can to ensure my officers and the inmates are safe.”

Rockovich said he will be conducting an evaluation of all corrections officer posts and staffing levels — something he had planned to do before Monday’s incident — to ensure maximum safety under county budget constraints.

At $34.1 million a year, the prison system is the largest single department expense in the county’s $130 million general fund operating budget.

Union meetings

County Manager C. David Pedri said he and Rockovich met with prison union representatives Wednesday morning as part of a new plan to regularly meet to discuss safety concerns.

Union officials proposed a series of suggestions to enhance security and safety involving staffing levels, protocol and equipment, Pedri said.

For example, the administration agreed to review options to “best utilize radios to full capacity.”

Pedri declined to go into detail, saying corrections officers could be more at risk if potential security concerns and weaknesses are publicly exposed to inmates.

He noted the county never dips below a complicated minimum manning requirement specified in the prison union contract. The prison system employs around 300.

County prison officials have warned for more than two years that the atmosphere of the Water Street facility has markedly changed because an increasing number of inmates are involved in serious crimes and feuds among competing gang members.

Prison overcrowding, a less manageable five-story prison layout and a rise in inmates wrestling with drug addiction and mental health issues add to the problem, they said.

“The union had excellent, concrete suggestions, and we will take steps to move some in place immediately and also long-term,” Pedri said. “Our first meeting was only a small step.”

Pedri said he is “on the same side” as the union in wanting to ensure the facility is safe to work and house inmates.

“We can’t meet eye-to-eye on everything, but I want a clear line of communication,” he said.

Several union workers, speaking anonymously, have criticized Pedri and prison Deputy Warden James Larson for not taking their safety concerns seriously.

Pedri said he has researched and forwarded any past concerns to the prison administration and noted he never received any complaints about the two prison elevators since he became acting county manager in January and permanent manager in May.

Larson, a 38-year prison employee, said he has addressed every safety concern brought to his attention.

He said a small sector of corrections officers have a “personal axe to grind” because he has handled disciplinary actions at the prison for more than a decade. Larson said numerous officers have expressed support for him and criticized attempts to discredit him, he said.

“I can look anyone straight in the eye and say that I always did my utmost to keep everyone safe and to keep this facility secure,” Larson said. “I live, sleep, eat and breathe this place.”

Capital repairs

County Council Chairwoman Linda McClosky Houck has stressed a county council majority last August approved a request from former correctional division head J. Allen Nesbitt to earmark $1.8 million for county prison repairs.

Ten past and present prison employees approached Councilman Eugene Kelleher in March to complain one of these projects — the $325,000 replacement of security cameras, including some that had malfunctioned — was still not addressed.

The administration blamed delays on the design process, but Pedri said the new camera system is almost fully operational.

The old camera system was installed in 2005 as part of several security improvements made after Hugo Selenski’s October 2003 escape to both safeguard correctional workers and monitor their performance.

Prison officials say the new security cameras are high-resolution with crisp images. Additional cameras allow monitoring and recording of blind spots, Rockovich said.

Several other council-approved prison projects had been put on the back burner, but Pedri said they are still active and will be completed the end of this year.

These projects include:

• $120,000 for new doors, walls and intercoms on both sides of the third floor for security reasons.

• $120,000 for additional doors at six day rooms to provide another exit.

• $110,000 to replace eleven mechanical door sliders that are worn from heavy use.

• $75,000 to make the main entrance more secure.

• $95,000 for new control panels.

Pedri has described Monday’s deaths as a “freak accident,” and said the county has retained a state expert to identify the problem. Pedri said the expert was on scene as of Thursday, and the county manager has promised to implement any recommended corrective action.

Rockovich
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_rockovich.jpeg-1.jpg.optimal.jpgRockovich

A “freak accident” Monday that claimed the lives of an inmate and a guard at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility has raised questions about the safety of the aging prison, the oldest part of which was built in 1868.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_web1_TTL072016Prison1-8-3.jpg.optimal.jpgA “freak accident” Monday that claimed the lives of an inmate and a guard at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility has raised questions about the safety of the aging prison, the oldest part of which was built in 1868. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader file photo

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

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Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.