Corrections officers’ mistakes helped inmates escape, kill them

Human error contributed to the deaths of two corrections officers last month, a state Department of Corrections review determined.

On Friday, Gregory C. Dozier, commissioner of the department, released copies of an internal and external review of the killing of Sgts. Curtis Billue and Chris Monica on June 13.

Neither one of the officers was wearing a protective ballistic vest or gun belt, as required. Billue’s vest was in his personal car, and Monica was never issued one.

Their weapons were left in storage boxes during the trip. They were not carrying one, as required.

Dozier said several factors and security breaches led to Ricky Dubose and Donnie Rowe escaping from their handcuffs and gaining access to the officers at the front of the bus.

An initial search of Baldwin State Prison inmates being transported that day did not find a pen and toothbrush Rowe had on board that was later seen in a video.

Standard operating procedure mandates a strip search, but Baldwin State Prison, where Dubose and Rowe were being housed, required only a pat down.

The inmates’ handcuffs were not double-locked, which allowed Dubose to get out of his cuffs less than two minutes after leaving the prison.

He was able to free Rowe and other inmates as they traveled to Hancock State Prison before dawn, which was another violation of procedure. Inmates are not supposed to be transferred in the dark without prior approval from the warden or during an emergency.

Only one of 13 interior lights was working on the bus.

Billue and Monica removed their weapons from the compartment and left the inmates alone on the bus after arriving at Hancock State Prison at 5:43 a.m.

Officers’ weapons routinely are handed over to authorities as they enter prison gates and are given back on the way out.

At 5:53 a.m., three minutes after the officers left the inmates alone, one of them could be heard on the video telling other inmates that the lock on the compartment door was not secure.

The GBI determined that the lock was functioning, but it had not been secured that morning.

Rowe used what was believed to be a toothbrush to open the door in about a minute.

He and Dubose rummaged through the officers’ compartment and went through their lunches. They got back in the prisoners’ compartment and closed the gate again before Billue and Monica got back on the bus with 10 other Hancock State Prison inmates.

The bus was bound for the Diagnostic and Classification State Prison near Jackson.

The compartment door lock was not secured after that stop either.

Leaving the prison, the officers once again put their weapons in the compartment instead of keeping them at hand.

At 6:24 a.m., Dubose removed his prison uniform shirt, and he and Rowe moved to the front of the bus.

Rowe removed his belly chain at 6:28 a.m. and started opening the compartment door as other inmates moved to the back of the bus as it traveled west along Ga. 16 east of Eatonton.

He and Dubose breached the gate at 6:39 a.m. and killed the officers with their own weapons.

They got off the bus through a small window on the door, which was blocked by Monica’s body and would not open.

The former cellmates hijacked a passing motorist and got away.

The review said there was no evidence that Dubose and Rowe conspired with any Georgia Department of Corrections staff or people on the outside in making their escape.

“It is the team’s belief that the unlocked gate inside the bus, the handcuffs that were not double-locked, Rowe’s possession of a toothbrush, and the officers’ failure to wear their firearms created the opportunity for these events to transpire,” the review stated.

Failing to secure the gate was the “single greatest point of failure,” according to the report.

Sheriff Howard Sills of Putnam County, where the killings happened, said Friday that while mistakes were made regarding security, the escapees are the ones to blame.

“Let’s not forget the simple fact that error or not, two hoodlums savagely murdered two corrections officers in the line of duty,” Sills told The Telegraph. “And there’s nothing else about this that overshadows that fact.”

A number of recommendations have been suggested, such as exploring locking mechanisms that would prevent a bus from moving until the gate is secure.

Those suggestions will be discussed and implemented where possible.

Since the deaths of Billue and Monica, the department already has implemented additional safety procedures requiring that a trail vehicle follow transport buses around the state.

The department is expanding the role of the chief of security at each facility, who will verify that handcuffs are double-locked and oversee a preload checklist to verify the bus equipment is in working order.

The security chief also will not allow officers to retrieve their weapons if they are not wearing proper gear.

Video cameras also will be upgraded to cover all angles of the bus.

A camera that was on the bus that day helped investigators determine exactly what happened.

New padlocks that retain keys in the unlocked position will be installed on the bus partitions to ensure proper locking.

Annual refresher training will be given to all transport officers.

Dozier did not take questions at the conclusion of the briefing, but he vowed to ensure the safety of the department’s 125 transport officers.

“I am determined not to allow an event like this to take place again,” Dozier said before leaving the board room of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in Atlanta.

This story was originally published July 21, 2017 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Corrections officers’ mistakes helped inmates escape, kill them."