The Utah Department of Corrections' director told lawmakers Wednesday that policy changes are under way after a corrections officer's slaying and a brazen escape attempt by an inmate.
"We don't want an officer to die in vain. We don't want it to happen again," corrections executive director Tom Patterson said after his remarks to the Utah State Legislature's Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee.
Implementing those policy changes could be expensive. Patterson asked the committee for an extra $1 million to pay for having two officers for every one inmate transported anywhere. In light of the June 25 slaying of officer Stephen Anderson, lawmakers seemed somewhat receptive.
"We obviously want the safety of our officers first and foremost in our minds," said Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield. "We put our money where our mouth is when it comes time to look at funding corrections."
Lawmakers are taking a closer look at corrections-officer safety in the aftermath of Anderson's death. Anderson, 60, was transporting inmate Curtis Allgier to University Hospital's orthopedic clinic for an MRI. Prosecutors believe Allgier, 27, overpowered Anderson and shot him in the chest and head.
Allgier then carjacked an SUV and led police on a chase across the Salt Lake Valley, ending at an Arby's restaurant, prosecutors say.
According to criminal charges filed in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court, Allgier ran inside the fast-food restaurant, and he is accused of putting a gun to the head of an employee. Prosecutors believe Allgier pulled the trigger but missed the employee. A customer fought Allgier and disarmed him.
The heavily tattooed, white-supremacist inmate is now facing charges of aggravated murder, attempted murder and theft, in connection with the escape attempt. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty against Allgier.
On Wednesday, the criminal case limited the remarks of those people who testified before the legislative committee. Sen. Jon Griener, R-Ogden, warned his colleagues not to pry.
"We do not want to jeopardize this prosecution," he said. "However, it is appropriate for our committee to discuss law enforcement and correctional practices and procedures."
The Utah Department of Public Safety is conducting an independent investigation into the corrections department's policies and procedures in the Allgier case and hopes to finish in the next week or two, DPS spokesman Jeff Nigbur said Wednesday.
Patterson told the Deseret Morning News that Allgier was considered a "high-risk" inmate, which policy would have dictated a minimum of one officer to one inmate. Any increase in the number of officers is discretionary.
Corrections-officer training policy also dictates an officer must wear a bulletproof vest when transporting such an inmate. Patterson declined to say if Anderson, whom court documents said was shot in the chest and the head, was wearing one. "We don't have a complete investigation," Patterson said.
He told lawmakers that since Anderson's death, the corrections department has doubled up on officers transporting inmates, begun double-checking the risk level of an inmate, and plans to issue Tasers this weekend to corrections officers. The Department of Corrections is also working with University Hospital to limit the number of medical transports by doing more tele-conferencing with doctors and specialists, and possibly bringing medical staff from the hospitals to the prison.
In a memo to University Hospital and clinic staffers last month, the hospital's chief executive officer David Entwistle outlined other changes, including wrist and ankle restraints for inmates that will not be removed during medical examination or treatment, or for any nonmedical reason, "under any circumstances."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com