Texas inmates in jail for crimes are now hailed as heroes, thanks to putting themselves at risk to help a jailer, who suffered an apparent heart attack while guarding them.
The heroic deed happened on June 23, in the basement of the District Courts Building in Weatherford, Parker County, Texas.
The guard was on watch duty over eight prisoners in the basement holding cell in the District Courts Building, all of whom were locked inside a small room off to one side. After talking and joking with them, the guard suddenly slumped over, unconscious.
The inmates shouted for help, and managed to bust out of their holding room, even though they knew it would be very risky. Inmate Nick Kelton explained afterwards,
“We were worried they’re going to come with guns drawn on us.”
But the urge to save a life in danger was stronger,
“It never crossed my mind not to help whether he’s got a gun or a badge. If he falls down, I’m gonna help him.”
As it turned out, the guard who suffered the apparent heart attack had no pulse. The inmates shouted and banged on doors until deputies upstairs in court came running down to see what was going on. They were afraid it might be the prisoners trying to breakout.
Parker County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Speegle voiced his concerns,
“He had keys […] Had a gun. It could have been an extremely bad situation.”
At first, Speegle’s fears seemed to have come true. The deputies saw shackled and handcuffed inmates hovering over the unresponsive guard. One prisoner even reached towards the gun, although it was to get hold of the radio next to it, in order to call “Mayday.”
While Sgt. Speegle put the inmates back into the cell, the deputies started CPR.
The guard finally regained a pulse after paramedics arrived and shocked him. Capt. Mark Arnett believes the prisoners likely saved his life,
“He could have been there 15 minutes before any other staff walked in and found him.”
The guard is expected to return to work next week, but if he ever suffers a similar collapse he might not be as lucky. The room that inmates broke out of was immediately reinforced, and they won’t be able to help again.
The guard slumped over:
Here you can watch the footage of the entire incident – the guard going unconscious, and the inmates helping to save his life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csal1AwJO0Y
Features Image: Screengrab Via Carl Nordstrom51 Via YouTube video.
