Bateman said one deputy gave chase while a second stayed with three other jail inmates who had been unloaded from the van. Sheriff Capt. Jerry Scott said he is angry the escape happened and has asked for an internal investigation to determine how to prevent future escapes.

"I don't know what we'll end up doing," Bateman said. "We only have finite resources and a fraction of the manpower we need."

He said he anticipates no major procedural changes.

"I feel we have good policies and procedures for handling these sorts of things, but if there's a weakness in our policies and procedures, we'll make changes," Bateman said. "And if there's a weakness in people not following policies and procedures, we'll make damn sure we take necessary action to ensure that it doesn't happen again. If that requires disciplinary action, we don't hesitate to take it."

Bateman also expressed concern about courthouse security and the public areas jail inmates pass through to and from courtroom appearances. In addition to four courtrooms, the courthouse houses several county and state government offices.