Corrections officer's death is investigated

UTAH STATE PRISON — The report now sits in a sealed envelope on Utah Department of Corrections director Tom Patterson's desk.

An investigation into the June 25 slaying of corrections officer Stephen Anderson has finally been completed, the Utah Department of Public Safety confirmed Tuesday.

"We reviewed policy to see if there were any improvements and recommendations that need to be implemented," said DPS spokesman Jeff Nigbur. "Embedded in that, we also looked at the details as far as the shooting."

Nigbur would not say if there were any corrections department policy violations found in the review of Anderson's death.

Patterson, who has been out of town at a conference, is expected to review the report when he returns next week, said corrections spokesman Jack Ford. The report may also be sent back to DPS for additional clarifications.

"We can't guarantee that there won't be other questions that we ask them," Ford said.

On June 25, police said Anderson, 60, was escorting inmate Curtis Allgier as he underwent an MRI at the University of Utah's orthopaedic clinic. Prosecutors allege Allgier, 27, overpowered Anderson and shot him in the chest and the head.

Allgier then carjacked an SUV and led police on a chase across the Salt Lake Valley, ending at an Arby's restaurant on Redwood Road, prosecutors said.

According to charges filed in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court, Allgier ran inside the restaurant, putting a gun to the head of an employee. Prosecutors said Allgier pulled the trigger, but missed. A customer fought Allgier and disarmed him.

The tattooed, white supremacist inmate is now facing multiple charges, including aggravated murder, aggravated attempted murder and escape. Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty against Allgier, who is now being held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail.

A number of changes have already been made in the corrections department's transport policy in the wake of Anderson's shooting death. Every inmate transported from the prison is now escorted by two corrections officers, who will carry Tasers. An inmate's risk is now double-checked.

Doctors may be asked to come to the prison rather than transport an inmate to a hospital, and tele-conferencing is being discussed. The University of Utah Hospitals said in a memo that restraints will not be removed from inmates "under any circumstances" during examinations.

The Utah State Prison is also limiting the number of court appearances inmates make in person. Ford said they are no longer transporting inmates to a justice court at the Salt Lake County government complex because of a lack of security.

"There's no holding cells," he said of that courtroom. "We've had concerns about that for some time."

Equipment allowing for video arraignments is being installed at the prison to be used whenever it can be, Ford said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com