Philadelphia prison escape shows divide between prison leaders, officers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The mystery surrounding the escape of two inmates last month from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center is still an open book, but Tuesday, city council wanted at least some answers explaining why it happened and how to stop it from happening again.
Lawmakers heard testimony on that escape, but much of the hearing turned into a full accounting of what's happening inside the state prison system.
And it shows a divide between prison leaders and the officers who are in those facilities every day.
"The citizens of this city deserve an explanation as to how and why something like this could happen," City councilmember at-large Sharon Vaughn said.
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City council members want answers about how Ameen Hurst and Nasir Grant were able to walk away from PICC last month, going unnoticed for nearly 24 hours.
Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney declined to go into details about the escape, citing an ongoing investigation but noted they have procedures for head counts.
"These procedures were not properly followed," Carney said.
Carney also pointed to staffing issues plaguing corrections facilities stemming from the pandemic, but noted in 2017 prisons were fully staffed.
"Today, only 1,318 of 2,186 budgeted positions are filled," Carney said.
But officers and advocates say issues in prisons go much deeper than staffing.
Jeffrey Bishop, a sergeant at Riverside Correctional, says he's filed multiple grievances with the department but hasn't heard anything. He accused leadership of favoritism and more.
"If you are not in the clique with this administration, you don't get anything – you're considered the bottom barrel feeder, and they treat you like a bottom barrel person," Bishop said.
Carney pushed back on some of the claims made by Bishop.
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"This is not a buddy system. I have no allegiance to anyone, we follow civil service regulations," Carney said.
City council members expressed concern over some of the conditions described within the prison system – however it's unclear where council will take things from here.
Hurst and Grant are both in custody and several others are facing charges for allegedly helping them escape.
