Bent County Correctional Facility Works with Community, Conducts Mock Emergency Drill

LAS ANIMAS, CO, October 6, 2008 – On Thursday, October 1, 2008, Bent County Correctional Facility (BCCF), Bent County Sheriff Office (BCSO), Fort Lyon Correctional Facility (FLCF), and Las Animas Police Department (LAPD) conducted a county-wide emergency drill to evaluate each agency's ability to respond to an escape.

The drill began at the Bent County Correctional Facility (BCCF) with a simulated escape. Before expanding the drill into the community, BCCF tested various components of its emergency plan to include inmate identification of the escaped inmate, intelligence gathering, and quick response actions. Once the simulated escape was confirmed at the facility, BCCF contacted partner agencies for assistance. Agreements with the BCSO, FLCF, and LAPD include provisions for emergency assistance. Each agency provided personnel and equipment to apprehend the escapee.

The escapee was actually Eric Marquez, a Correctional Officer at FLCF. Officer Marquez set tracks leading away from BCCF and then began his journey through the city of Las Animas and into Bent County.

A unified command post was established at the Sheriff’s Office to start the community portion of the drill. BCCF staff were posted at various key observation locations throughout the county to monitor the activity of the drill as well as to ensure the safety of the community. BCSO and LAPD began patrolling identified areas in Las Animas and Bent County. FLCF activated their tracking team to report to BCCF; administrative staff reported to the unified command post established at the BCSO.

As emergency plans outline, BCSO and BCCF quickly notified various businesses, residences and schools of the drill through personal phone calls, visits from officers, and a reverse notification system called Code Red. Sheriff Oyen commented about the Code Red system. "We are very happy about the performance of the Code Red system. It worked as designed allowing, us to inform local residents and business owners within minutes of initiating the drill. We feel confident if this had been a real emergency this system would be key in protecting the people of Bent County."

The escapee was initially apprehended within 30 minutes of the establishment of the unified command post. The inmate was spotted by an observation post and apprehended by local law enforcement. The inmate was released to allow the drill to continue and provide an opportunity for the unified command center to test its integrated communication systems.

The FLCF tracking team quickly went to work and discovered tracks leading away from BCCF. After using a series of techniques involving numerous mobile teams and highly trained tracking experts, the team apprehended the offender within an hour and a half. “Officer Marquez put on a good chase. He was apprehended unscathed short of mosquito bites, wet and muddy clothing from the river bottom,” stated FLCF Manager Mike Romero. Romero further added, “I am proud of the efforts of our specialty team. The team members take their assignment serious and worked hard towards successful apprehension.”

Warden Brigham Sloan of BCCF stated, "Going into this drill we knew we needed to see a few things. We wanted to make sure we could coordinate our efforts among the participating agencies, we wanted be able to communicate information quickly and effectively between all the drill stakeholders, and most of all we wanted to apprehend the inmate using the plans and procedures designed for this type of incident."

"Not only do we work in this community, we live in it as well. This was not just about testing our ability to deal with an escape, it was also about making sure that our family and our homes are safe," added Warden Sloan. "After working with the professionals at the PD, Sheriff's Office, and Fort Lyon, I feel certain these agencies are here to keep us safe." FLCF Warden Rod Cozzetto echoed Warden Sloan's comments. "We have established and solidified key relationships as a part of this drill. I am very proud of the Fort Lyon staff as well as the staff of the other agencies." Both wardens agreed that the drill was a success.

In compliance with the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-5), all federal departments, state, local agencies are required to adopt the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and utilize the system in their individual domestic incident management and emergency prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities. All four agencies involved in this drill comply with NIMS. Randy Freed, Bent Emergency Management Coordinator monitored the drill.