Officer Shot By Fleeing Inmate Dies

A corrections officer who was shot in the face by a hospitalized inmate has died of his injuries, officials said Saturday, and union leaders are demanding a review of the department's staffing policies.

Jeffery Alan Wroten, 44, was the only officer guarding inmate Brandon Morris at Washington County Hospital early Thursday when he was shot.

Morris somehow grabbed the officer's gun about 5 a.m., and during a struggle for control, fired into Wroten's face, said corrections commissioner Frank C. Sizer Jr.

No one else in the hospital was injured, but the 20-year-old inmate escaped and forced a taxi driver at gunpoint to drive north until the taxi crashed. Morris escaped on foot but was quickly captured.

Gov. Robert Ehrlich praised Wroten on Saturday as "a pillar of strength to others, always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need," and he ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff in the officer's honor.

Wroten, who died on Friday, had been assigned to the medium-security Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, where Morris was serving an eight-year sentence for assault, robbery and handgun convictions.

Morris is now in a maximum-security facility. He had not been charged in Wroten's shooting Saturday, but Sizer said he considers it a capital offense.

In Maryland, the death penalty is reserved for cases of first-degree murder, either premeditated or during the commission of a felony.

Morris had been admitted to the hospital for an injury that prison officials have refused to publicly disclose, however The (Baltimore) Sun reported Saturday that Mary Ann Saar, secretary of the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, told senators that it was a self-inflicted wound — a needle stabbed into his chest.

Sizer and Saar's spokesman Mark Vernarelli said they couldn't verify the report.

The shooting has prompted corrections officers' unions to demand a review of security policies for hospitalized inmates, including a rule that just one officer stand guard instead of two.

"Even though the inmate pulled the trigger, the administration has to fully look at how the short-staffing impacted this situation. I truly believe that had there been two officers, this wouldn't have happened," said Janet Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Classified Employees Association.

Greg Massoni, an Ehrlich spokesman, said it was the wrong time to discuss policy and politics.

"I would ask the union to respect the families at this time as well, and not throw that kind of stuff into the mix," he said.

In a public statement released by the corrections department, an unidentified sister of Wroten said the officer's organs had been donated.

"Jeffery is my hero, and this is the best way to honor him," she said.