Medical transport of inmates resumes

Medical transports of Utah State Prison inmates to local hospitals resumed Thursday, just three days after an inmate allegedly killed a corrections officer during a visit to a University Hospital clinic.

The escape and subsequent recapture of Curtis Allgier on Monday, when corrections Sgt. Stephen Anderson was killed, prompted a review of procedures. Corrections and hospital officials have agreed to changes designed to prevent problems — including increasing the number of guards who escort a prisoner and using telemedicine to reduce the need for transport.

The U. also posted two security guards at University Orthopaedic Center, the site of the shooting and escape, where they will remain "until patients and staff feel safer," said center spokeswoman Tresha Kramer.

The Department of Corrections at first had said all non-emergency procedures would be canceled until next week. But a decision was made late Wednesday afternoon to resume transports starting Thursday, following a meeting between corrections officials and University Hospital administration, said corrections spokesman Jack Ford.

The new policy stipulates that two guards will go along with every prisoner being transported, he said.

That policy will remain in effect at least until an investigation into the shooting death of Anderson and the subsequent escape attempt by Allgier is completed, Ford said. Anderson was the only guard with Allgier, who is being held without bail for investigation of aggravated murder, carjacking and several other charges related to the fatal escape attempt.

"This is not forever, but for at least a few weeks, as we sort things out," said University Health Care spokesman Christopher Nelson, who added that the U. has been treating prisoners for decades. "This is a wake-up call for both sides that this is dangerous. I think after we review the policies, we'll find they're pretty good, but we need to make sure we're all following them. It raises awareness so everyone's safer."

The hospital security guards are well-trained and provide extra eyes and ears, Nelson said, but they are not gun-toting law-enforcement officers. "They're not trained to deal with inmates," he said. "When we have a patient that needs extra security, that's not the job of U. Hospital security officers."

The U. has its own police force, and those officers are sometimes pressed into service at the hospital, as well.

One of the reasons medical transports resumed was that the number of inmates needing specialized medical attention was starting to back up, Ford said.