Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – The Warren County Commissioners reiterated their support for Warren County Jail staff on Wednesday and pointed to a “structural weakness” as the primary reason behind Michael Burham’s July 6 escape from the facility.
During a media conference at the Warren County Courthouse on Wednesday, Commissioner Jeff Eggleston said there was a structural issue on the roof of the jail yard that allowed Burham to escape.
See the full media conference:
“The fundamental problem is that there was a structural weakness in the cage on the roof,” Eggleston said. “That’s it, as far as the facility goes. If that hadn’t been the case, you wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
The Jail’s design lends itself to inmates being watched via video camera as opposed to having guards among the population. Simply switching to an in-person system of monitoring inmates would require a complete reconfiguration of the jail, according to Eggleston.
“One of the questions has always been, ‘He’s on the roof with three other people (inmates), who was watching him?’” Eggleston said. “Every time people go up there, they’re watched through a camera remotely by somebody. The amount of time that he got out of that roof was quicker than anybody could respond to get inside the room. In order to change that, we would have to completely reconfigure the jail in order to make that happen.
“Our facility is a box with a whole ton of rooms in it and they all have cameras in them. We would have to completely reconfigure the jail and triple our staff in order to do some of the stuff people have suggested as a remedy.”
Eggleston did say whether the current use of cameras as a security measure is adequate would be included in the Commissioners’, and Prison Board’s, review of Jail policies and procedures.
“That’s absolutely something that we’re going to review,” Eggleston said. “Everything associated with the yard and the people inside and how they’re observed is going to be reviewed and potentially changed. The only issue we deal with is it’s mandated that they have to have yard time so we have to figure out a way to provide that for them in a secure and safe situation.”
Since Burham used bedsheets to fashion a rope in order to get off the roof, Eggleston said inmate access to materials would be part of the review as well.
“Our laundry procedures, everything associated with inmates’ materials is being reviewed and will potentially change as a result of this situation,” Eggleston said. “Now granted this is something that every prison does on a regular basis because you have a good number of people who would really love to get out of the facility. So they’re constantly trying to figure out ways to maneuver the system, this is one of those things that we’ll be definitely looking into and potentially addressing changes going forward. Every element of their life in the jail is being evaluated for potentially changing policy.”
Adding additional security measures to the roof will be another aspect of the review.
“There’s always more that can be done,” Eggleston said. “There’s no end to it. You’re always trying to operate from a position of fiscal responsibility. Hindsight’s always 20-20. We have already discussed and are going to allocate money to expand security on that roof complex and the deterrents associated with it so believe me, no one’s ever going to even think to try to climb out of there ever again.”
Despite the ongoing criminal investigation into the escape, Eggleston said the Commissioners are “confident” that Jail staff is “top of the line.”
“We want to show support for them because, regardless of how the criminal investigation comes out, we feel very confident that our staff is top of the line and has been,” Eggleston said. “And whether it’s the reviews from the state show that, our own evaluation shows that. The criminal investigation might show that there’s an issue with one or two of them we can’t say that for certain, but everybody else that’s involved is top of the line.”
Though he would not say how many guards were on duty at the time of Burham’s escape, Eggleston also pointed to the internal response as a reason for the Commissioners’ support.
“The second that that announcement came out that he left everybody reported to the jail within minutes,” Eggleston said. “Everybody. And immediately started collaborating with the state police and everybody involved. And their response has been fantastic. Most of those people have not slept. They have tried everything they can because their number one priority is getting Michael Burham back in custody.
“Everybody knew immediately. I think the question of how quickly everybody responded in the facility that’ll be something that I think will be revealed more so as the investigation moves forward. But it was very quick. I can’t stress enough that this person moved up through the roof very quickly, ran to the other end, got down the rope, and got out.”
Unless criminal charges are filed, Commissioner Ben Kafferlin said the Commissioners are precluded from stating publicly what, if any, disciplinary action is taken against Jail or other County staff.
“While transparency is, of course, our guiding principle, the law requires us to keep disciplinary actions confidential,” Kafferlin said. “We will follow that law. And so any disciplinary action very likely will not come before the public.”
When it comes to staffing, Eggleston said “there was no shortage of staff. They were staffed as they should be as far as I’m aware at this time.”
“Yes, it has (been fully staffed),” Eggleston said. “To clarify there were 87 people that were in the jail as inmates the night of the escape. We now have 90, I believe, and our max is 140. There have been times previous to COVID where we were at 140 on a regular basis and that really stretched staff pretty thin. Ninety is a good number for us from my perspective.”
Eggleston also elaborated on the reason why Burham, who escaped just before 11:30 p.m., was in the yard so late at night.
“I think this is the preconception that everybody has, you have lockdown, everybody goes to their beds, they’re in the bed the rest of the night,” Eggleston said. “Because of the size of our facility and the need for them to have yard time, we can’t take everybody up into that space at the same time. They have to go in shifts and so they’re taken a little bit at a time and they’re in there all day long in shifts as groups over and over again.”
He added that yard time runs “almost 24 hours.”
As to whether he would feel comfortable with Burham returning to the Warren County Jail if he is captured, Eggleston said he would trust the court’s judgment.
“That’s not up to me,” Eggleston said. “I think somebody else will make that determination based on the circumstances and I will trust their judgment, especially at a higher law enforcement level to put him in the place that he needs to be.
“Our job is to manage the jail, we do not determine 100% who comes into it or who leaves. That’s the courts, that’s the law enforcement agencies. That (where Burham will be held if captured) would be a question for them. I’m sure that everybody will be discussing that at every level going forward.”
Andy Close contributed to this report
