11 Investigates: 2 jail guards suspended after inmate nearly escapes during trip to hospital

PITTSBURGH — Two jail guards were suspended after an inmate managed to briefly escape during a trip to the hospital.

This inmate had one leg and was handcuffed to a crutch, but still managed to get away.

11 Investigates has learned that he didn’t get very far.

Hospital staff noticed he was still handcuffed to a crutch, and they called security, who took him back into custody still inside the hospital.

There are a lot of questions about how an inmate with one leg and handcuffed to a crutch managed to escape from two jail guards.

It happened last Thursday at West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield.

According to law enforcement sources, two Allegheny County jail guards were watching the inmate in a hospital room when he had to use the restroom.

The guards removed one handcuff but left his other hand cuffed to a crutch that he uses to get around since he only has one leg.

A nurse then came in to talk to the inmate, and seconds later, the inmate took off.

But the jail guards thought he was still behind the curtain in his room on the ninth floor.

A couple of minutes later, they discovered him missing.

They suspect he followed the nurse out of the room.

The guards began frantically searching the hospital. Hospital security eventually discovered him wandering the hallways.

A county spokesperson tells 11 Investigates, “The two corrections officers involved are suspended pending an internal investigation. The investigation into this incident is ongoing and we do not have any further information to share at this time.”

Just last year, 11 Investigates spoke with the jail guard union president who raised concerns that guards were no longer allowed to use leg shackles while taking inmates to the hospital for treatment.

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At that time, he said there had been about a dozen escape attempts from local hospitals since the ban on shackles.

“It would make a huge difference. If anything, it’s a deterrent because you know, you’re not gonna be able to run,” Jail Guard Union President Brian Englert said.

Those two jail guards have been suspended without pay during the investigation.

Channel 11 reached out to West Penn Hospital, but a spokesman declined comment, deferring to county jail officials.

No charges have been filed yet against that inmate.

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