TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The tragic situation at a Delaware prison that left one corrections officer dead is is affecting corrections officers across the country, including in Toledo.
"It's really hard for me to wrap my mind around it to be honest," said Lucas County Chief Deputy William Talbott.
At the Lucas County Jail, Chief Deputy Talbott says in some ways they have an easier time handling inmates, than in a prison.
For one, people don't stay long.
"For the average inmate is typically less than 10 days," said Talbott.
Talbott says also, they don't have the space to have large groups of inmates congregating.
That being said, the majority of the people staying at the jail are accused of violent crimes and Talbott says they have protocols for various situations.
"We also have trained negotiators here in the event that we would ever need them," said Talbott. "On top of that, another layer, we have a corrections tactical team, that, that would also be called in situations like that. And that's staffed on all three shifts every day of the year."
If anything was to happen at Toledo's prison, Talbott says Lucas County Sheriff's deputies and Toledo Police would be called to respond and that they have had meetings about how they would handle situations.
Gary Mohr, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction director, said in a statement that he was reaching out to Delaware's director to see if he can be of any assistance in light of the tragedy.
The employees at Toledo's prison are just some of the 12,000 across the state who got a message from Mohr Thursday, asking them them to stay vigilant, report anything out of the ordinary, promote a safe environment and pray for their fellow employees.
Director Mohr's message also says as they learn more about the situation in Delaware, "we will make sure we take those lessons seriously."
Here is Mohr's full message:
While not much is known about the events at the Delaware prison, we do know that a dedicated staff member working in their system has tragically perished.
Family, friends and staff are mourning. This loss and those injured have a profound impact on all of us. I am reaching out to their Director to see if Ohio can be of any assistance. I believe that our thoughts and prayers for the staff and their families will make a difference.
As we learn more we will make sure we take those lessons seriously and apply them where necessary. I believe there are two guiding principles that are important. Policy and procedures are developed in a thoughtful manner and holding on to those to guide our daily work is important. Secondly, we are in a people business which places a high premium on effective communication.
Stay vigilant, report anything out of the ordinary, listen and talk to those under our control, promote a safe and hopeful environment
and pray for our over 12,000 staff that are providing the ultimate public service.
