Every inmate who is transported to Circuit Court must be fully restrained.
Although the inmates in three of the vans had leg shackles, all eight inmates in the van Munet was in did not.
"Having one escape is better than having eight," Department of Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said.
On Monday, Sakai held an internal operational review of the escape incident. He said changes are being made.
Those involved with transporting inmates will take refresher training, to ensure everyone knows the policy when it comes to inmate restraints. Also, the gate at circuit court will be closed and locked while unloading inmates, and other vans will wait outside the sally port.
The state will talk to the Judiciary about fixing the court building, possibly adding an automatic gate and limiting access at that entrance. And the corrections division is working with the sheriff’s division to get hooked into their radio system to improve communication.
The state also wants to develop physical standards for corrections officers. Two officers tried to catch up with Munet when he escaped, but couldn’t.
"We require a certain level of fitness coming in and I think we need to make sure that as they progress in their career, they maintain a certain level of fitness also," Sakai said.
Even though several things went wrong that day, Sakai doubts the escape was an inside job.
"If it was an inside job, you know, what was he doing 12 hours later in the immediate vicinity of his escape scene?," Sakai said.
The state is conducting a separate investigation to find out if staff members did anything wrong.
For now, the corrections officers who were in the van with Munet have been assigned to administrative duties at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
