Background
The four nurses sued Kane County, Illinois; Deputy Shawn Loomis, who was guarding the inmate, identified as Tywon Salters; and Apex 3 Security LLC, the hospital’s security contractor over the 2017 incident.
The inmate, had been hospitalized for surgery after he ate a plastic jail sandal. He had been in restraints, but Deputy Loomis had unshackled him to use the restroom. The inmate went to the restroom, and Loomis failed to re-shackle him when he returned. Salters overpowered the Deputy and took his gun.
Nurse Taken Hostage
He then took Nurse #1 hostage at gunpoint, taking her to an office and demanding she give him her clothes. Then Nurse #2 entered the room, and Salters took her hostage. He took both women to the first floor ambulance bay. When Salters saw police arriving, he forced her into a decontamination room, where he held her for several hours at gunpoint. According to the lawsuit, Salters hit Nurse #2 with the gun, threatened to kill her, and raped her.
Inmate Prisoner Killed by Police
The police records said he used Nurse #2’s smartphone to call his relatives and to talk to the police. When the officers heard him fire the gun, they ran into the room and killed Salters. In the settlement, Nurse #1 received $ 7.2 million dollars; Nurse #2 received $ 650,000, and two other nurses, who were on the third floor, each received $25,000. The nurses were never publically identified.
In court, the nurses
claimed that the hospital and Kane County deputies, and the security company knew
that Salters was a danger to himself and others, because he had been
hospitalized the week before for swallowing hydrogen peroxide at the jail and
had been placed on suicide watch. The
lawsuit said that Salter previously served time in prison for armed robbery, he
knew if he was convicted of another felony he would face a sentence of six to
30 years.
A Danger to Himself & Others
They also said that in the days before the incident, nurses had seen Kane County deputies using their personal cellphones and laptop computers when they were watching Salters, and that one had been caught sleeping. They also said that when Deputy Loomis was attacked, he did not report it, but hid in a hospital room.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Inmates who are being treated in a hospital frequently try to use violence to escape. They make the calculation that it’s much easier to escape from a lightly guarded hospital, than a secured jail or prison.
Deputies and security officers need to maintain a high level of vigilance.
THANKS FOR READING THE RISKAlert Report©
For more information and a free subscription: write to: caroline@riskandsecurityllc.com We provide security and risk assessments, and certify Hospital and Healthcare Facilities for Active Shooter Assessments, Active Shooter Training and Tabletop Drills, as well as Healthcare CMS All-Hazards Hospital & Healthcare Facility Risk Assessments and more. Find out more at www.riskandsecurityllc.com .