ROSEVILLE, Calif. — The Placer County Sheriff's Office released new details Friday morning about the escape of an inmate awaiting trial on murder and kidnapping charges in Roseville.
In July, Eric Abril escaped a hospital overnight leading to a massive 33-hour manhunt around Roseville and Rocklin.
"The recent inmate escape was unacceptable; we reassure our community that we remain committed to transparency. Our community deserves nothing less than our utmost dedication to your safety and security," the Placer County Sheriff's Office wrote in a news release.
Abril is facing several charges from an April 6 shootout at Mahany Park that left hostage James MacEgan dead. MacEgan's wife and a CHP officer were wounded.
On July 6, he was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center for treatment and to monitor "possible seizure activity," according to the report. He was supervised by one deputy on rotating shifts.
Around 3 a.m. on July 9, Abril slipped out of the remaining handcuff on his right hand, ran out of the room, down the staircase, and escaped through an emergency exit.
According to a report by the sheriff's office, the deputy was unaware that Abril defeated his restraints and didn't check if Abril was restrained before using a restroom located in the hospital room. The sheriff's office said it can't many answer questions about the deputy's employment history at the sheriff's office or discipline from the escape due to the California Peace Officer Bill of Rights.
Though initially classified to require two deputies with him, Abril's classification dropped about 33 days after he was initially reviewed to only need one deputy.
A sergeant, lieutenant, and captain were concerned about having only one officer supervising Abril, but they cited staffing, his classification dropping to only need one officer or both as why it was decided to leave it as it was.
Policy changes for the sheriff's office
Several policy changes have been made at the sheriff's office since the escape. The report outlined recommendations for the changes.
"There's kind of a historical preference for having a single officer escort folks that go to the hospital, and that's driven by a lot of factors. Staff, as I mention in the report, is a big one among them," said Scott Jones, a former Sacramento County Sheriff and the person who prepared the report.
According to the report, factors including staffing shortages and pressures, policy deficiencies and ambiguities, and internal practices contributed to the escape.
"Ideally, every person would be at least a two-person transport, but that's not really practical for Placer just because of their staffing... Some of my other recommendations is increase staffing and also increase the ratio of deputy sheriffs among their staff," said Jones.
As of July 1, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved five new deputy sheriff positions. Sheriff Wayne Woo said he would use these positions in the corrections division. The focus of these positions would include hospital transport.
Two or more deputies will be assigned to every emergency medical escort and hospitalization of an inmate.
Deputies will use maximum-level security restraints without compromising medical care. Also, the deputies will guard inmates who are admitted to a hospital.
The sheriff's office said these policy changes, among others, are meant to prevent an inmate from escaping custody.
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