Guard in Mansfield hostage situation was working alone

COLUMBUS

A female prison guard was taken hostage for 11 hours by a male inmate from Trumbull County, after she was left alone in the library of a Mansfield prison.

The guard was by herself after a second officer was pulled off for duties at the Mansfield Correctional Institution chapel, said Doug Mosier, a Mansfield guard and president of the facility’s Ohio Civil Service Employees Association chapter.

Once the second officer was pulled away, the library should have been closed and inmates returned to their cells, he said. The room was a legal library where inmates are allowed to do research on their cases.

“Obviously, the inmate saw an opportunity and took it,” Mosier said Monday. The union didn’t know how many total inmates were in the library.

It was unclear exactly how the guard was taken hostage. Most inmates were heading back to their cells for a daily headcount at the time, Mosier said.

The guard, an experienced officer, was released safely and is doing well, Mosier said.

Jermaine McKinney, 34, is serving two life sentences for the 2005 Newton Township murders of Rebecca Cliburn and Wanda Rollyson. He held the female officer hostage from around 10 a.m. Sunday until he surrendered about 9 p.m. Sunday, but the prison remained on lockdown Monday.

McKinney phoned 21-WFMJ TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, during the hostage situation and spoke with reporter Janet Rogers. McKinney told Rogers that he wanted to arrange a meeting with a witnesses who testified in his case, as well as police officers and family members, according to WFMJ.

The union, meanwhile, had previously filed a grievance over the practice of leaving areas understaffed when guards are pulled away for other duties. Current policies prevent non-guards such as social workers and teachers from being left alone with inmates. The union wants that expanded to include corrections officers.

JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, declined to comment on the union’s concerns. She said the agency is focusing on the guard’s well-being and staff safety.

The department “remains committed to operating secure prisons and the safety of our employees is paramount,” Smith said.

The 25-year-old prison holds mostly medium security inmates, with a population of about 2,700. The prison has about 580 employees, including about 440 guards.