The two corrections officers assigned to guard an inmate who escaped a hospital and ran amok through Prince George’s County and the District of Columbia may have violated department policies.
According to Maryland Correctional Services policy, two officers, one armed and one not, are supposed to be with an inmate who is outside of his facility at all times. The unarmed guard is supposed to stay close to the inmate while the armed guard is to remain out of the inmate’s reach to avoid having his gun taken.
But just before Kelvin Poke, 45, escaped from Laurel Regional Hospital Wednesday morning, he was in his hospital room with one armed corrections officer after the unarmed officer left the room for unspecified reasons, Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said.
At that point, Poke, who had been freed from his handcuffs, assaulted the armed guard, stole his .38-caliber service revolver and then used it to disarm another officer who entered the room after hearing the commotion.
“When [the officer] entered the room, the inmate put a gun to his head,” said Shipley, who was unclear as to why the inmate’s handcuffs had been removed.
“Policies need to be followed. If some were not followed, we could potentially take action, but it’s too early to assess blame because we don’t have all the answers yet,” said Maryland corrections spokesman Mark Vernarelli.
Poke was serving life-plus-40 years in the Jessup correctional facility in Anne Arundel County on kidnapping, carjacking and burglary charges since October 2005. He was admitted to the hospital for chest pains Tuesday, Shipley said.
From there, it’s history. Poke took an unarmed hospital guard hostage and released him just before carjacking a Toyota Camry that he ditched and lit on fire in the District. He then carjacked a D.C. government-owned Ford Explorer and headed back into Maryland where he and Prince George’s County police had a shootout that ended in Poke’s death.
A still-unidentified woman was with Poke when he opened fire. Police say they believe she did not go with him willingly. It was the second escape from Laurel Hospital in less thantwo months.
Maryland corrections officials will continue to investigate and are ready to make policy changes, Vernarelli said.
