Prisoner Escaped During Bathroom Break At MKE Airport: Sheriff

MILWAUKEE, WI — The prisoner who was lost during transport through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport Tuesday night managed to escape when one of his unarmed civilian guards took him out of handcuffs for a bathroom break, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office said in a news release that U.S. Corrections, the private company enlisted to escort the prisoner, did not coordinate the prisoner's arrival in Milwaukee with law enforcement that night.

U.S. Corrections has come under scrutiny in the past in similar circumstances.

How Did Johnson Escape?

The private inmate services company was tasked with bringing 40-year-old Robert Johnson from Texas to Rock County, Wisconsin, in connection with charges of robbery, use of force, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and obstructing an officer, the sheriff's office said.

Johnson landed at Mitchell International Airport alongside two employees from U.S. Corrections just before 9 p.m. on Tuesday.

Johnson was in handcuffs and a "RIPP" belt, a commonly used restraint device that attaches to handcuffs and wraps around a prisoner's waist. Shortly after arrival in Milwaukee, Johnson and the two civilian employees from U.S. Corrections went to rent a car from the airport.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Johnson told his guards he needed to use the bathroom at the rental car office. Only one of the employees tasked with escorting Johnson accompanied him to a bathroom in the airport's baggage claim area and inside the bathroom, the employee took off one of Johnson's two handcuffs restraining him to the RIPP belt.

Around 9:13 p.m. in the bathroom, Johnson rushed his escort and struck or shoved him, according to the sheriff's office. He then ran into the airport's parking structure, leading his escort on a foot chase, and proceeded westbound toward South Howell Avenue.

The U.S. Corrections employee who ran after Johnson was joined by his colleague shortly after Johnson's escape. They then notified the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office of the incident, according to the sheriff's office.

Upon learning of Johnson's escape, personnel from the sheriff's office immediately contained the airport parking structure and started searching the area around South Howell Avenue spanning between Howell Avenue in the east, 6th Street on the west, Grange Avenue on the south and Layton Avenue in the north.

Officers from the Milwaukee Police Department joined the search but by then it appeared to authorities Johnson had already fled airport grounds.

The sheriff's office said the search was expanded across much of Milwaukee's south side without results. A man matching Johnson's description may have been spotted in the area of 3rd Street and Grange Avenue around 9:42 Tuesday.

Company Has Had Complaints In The Past

U.S. Corrections is a subsidiary company of Prisoner Transportation Services, according to PTS' website. In the past, both companies and others like them have come under scrutiny from media reports. Both are private companies.

In July 2016, The Marshall Project investigated the private prisoner transportation industry as a whole and found numerous safety complaints against U.S. Corrections and similar companies. Citing local news reports, The Marshall Project found private extradition companies have lost over 50 prisoners during operations between 2000 and 2016.

In April 2016 the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Michigan Attorney General canceled their contract with U.S. Corrections, according to a 2020 report from WWMT Michigan. The contract had lasted mere months.

A letter signed by Michigan authorities addressed to U.S. Corrections cited concerns with the company's communication practices as well as concerns that two prisoners escaped the company's custody in Florida on April 4, 2016 as the reason for the service cancellation, WWMT reported.

The letter obtained by WWMT said U.S. Corrections frequently dropped off prisoners at their destinations outside of scheduled hours. Additionally, the letter alleges U.S. Corrections frequently did not notify Michigan authorities when a prisoner was being dropped off.

U.S. Corrections did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Patch.

U.S. Marshals Start Fugitive Apprehension Effort

On Wednesday the U.S. Marshals Service for the Eastern District of Wisconsin initiated a fugitive apprehension effort to bring Johnson back into custody. The Sheriff's Office described Johnson as a 5'7" weighing 145 pounds with a facial tattoo of a star.

He was last seen wearing a black jacket, white t-shirt and blue ripped pants. The Sheriff's Office said anyone who encounters Johnson should call 911.