Inmate Shane Pryor wasn't handcuffed or restrained before he escaped in Philadelphia: sources
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police and other law enforcement in Philadelphia continue to search for Shane Pryor, the 17-year-old inmate who escaped from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Wednesday.
But what exactly happened at CHOP in the moments leading to his escape?
RELATED: Shane Pryor, escaped Philadelphia prisoner, was charged with murder of Tanya Harris in 2020
Investigators say there were missteps and this wasn't supposed to happen. Police, the mayor's office and the Department of Human Services declined to talk on record about the escape Thursday.
On Friday, DHS told us it's standard protocol to handcuff and restrain youth while they're being transported, and for two juvenile detention counselors to accompany inmates during transport.
City officials say two counselors were present during the transport and they're investigating whether handcuffs were used in the case. You can read the full statement in this article.
But, law enforcement sources say Pryor was not handcuffed or restrained when he escaped the custody of people who drove him to CHOP on Wednesday.
Pryor was going to the hospital for treatment for a hand injury, according to police, that happened at the juvenile detention center on North 48th Street and Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia.
The city's human services department operates the facility and has come under sharp scrutiny before.
A CBS News Philadelphia investigation showed the city said the center was so overcrowded that it filed a suit against the state of Pennsylvania to move some juveniles to other locations.
Philadelphia's Juvenile Law Center has been involved in shining a light on problems there.
"The facts are deeply concerning," Marsha Levick, a chief legal officer of the Philadelphia Juvenile Law Center, said in a statement. "Regardless of what this young man has been charged with, it is never acceptable for a person in the custody of the city or state to face the kind of harm this young man was exposed to. When a child is placed at JJSC (Juvenile Justice Services Center) the city has an obligation to keep him safe."
Meanwhile, there are new questions now about why Pryor and his co-defendant's cases have dragged on slowly for years without a resolution.
Court records show there have been 10 attempts to move his case out of the Court of Common Pleas and back to juvenile court. It's what's known as a "decertification hearing."
The hearings were scheduled and then canceled and rescheduled for months, starting in early 2022 up until last month.
Pryor was 14 when in 2020 he was charged with murder.
