5 DOC Employees On Leave During Enfield Escape Investigation

ENFIELD, CT — An investigation into the Jan. 7 escape of an inmate from the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield is ongoing, and five Department of Correction employees have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the inquiry's findings, according to a union official.

According to DOC public information officer Andrius Banevicius. the five are general maintenance officer Paul Belanger, and correction officers Jaime Graham, Dwight Lawrence, Daniel Martinez and Angel Rivera.

Of the group, Lawrence is the longest-tenured, having served since 1992. Rivera started with the DOC in 2000, Graham in 2003, Belanger in 2014 and Martinez in 2015.

"My understanding is five DOC employees have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation," said Larry Dorman, communications coordinator for the Council 4 AFSCME union. "It wouldn’t be proper for me to comment while that investigation is ongoing."

Jerry Mercado, 25, escaped from the Robinson Institution sometime after 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 7. He was captured 10 days later in Canton, Ga., more than 1,000 miles from Enfield.

Officials believe Mercado clung to the undercarriage of a truck, which was not searched due to low staffing on a Sunday. The day after he escaped, Collin Provost, president of AFSCME Local 391, issued the following statement:

"We believe yesterday’s unfortunate events were preventable through proactive planning. The State has reduced staffing levels over the last several years, leaving the safety and security of the facilities and their respective communities vulnerable. Connecticut's correctional unions have expressed our concern to the Malloy administration that reductions in staffing levels is a dangerous gamble on felons not seizing opportunities to create unrest in our prisons and our neighborhoods. We have a collective responsibility to open the community's eyes to the threats we face. Increasing staffing levels to the levels each facility maintained prior to the last two reductions in 2015 and 2011, respectively, will dramatically reduce the ability of incarcerated populations to assault staff, each other or escape and endanger the community. Let this be a wake-up call to restore staffing, and improve safety and security in our prisons."

Photo courtesy of Connecticut Department of Correction