With the nation’s flooded prisons, we often hear stories of inmates rioting and escaping their cells. Generally, these situations don’t end well for anyone involved. But, on a bizarre afternoon in the summer of 2016, one group of escaped inmates were praised as heroes.
The incident occurred in the Weatherford District Courts Building.
A group of inmates was being held in a holding cell located in the basement when suddenly a guard who had been joking with them suddenly slumped over and stopped breathing.
“He was just talking to them, and he kind of collapsed,” said Mike Arnett, captain of the Parker County Sheriff’s office. “As soon as the jailer went down, they started to yell.” Inmate Nick Kelton elaborated, telling WFAA:
“He just fell over. Looked like an act.”
“Could have died right there.”
When the inmates realized the officer wasn’t joking, they immediately screamed for help.
When no one responded to their calls, they took matters into their own hands.
The shackled and handcuffed inmates somehow managed to break out of their holding cell…
…And call for help on the officer’s radio.
The men were taking a big risk by breaking out of their cell. Their actions could easily be misconstrued as an attempt to escape, but they knew the collapsed man needed their help. Arnett confirmed, “There was a large risk to these inmates for doing what they did.”
When the officers heard the inmates on the radio, they rushed to the basement. There, they put the men back in the cell and dialed 911.
And even though the inmates “broke out”, they are credited with saving the guard’s life.
“He could have been there 15 minutes before any other staff walked in and found him,” Arnett explained.
“It saved his life, without a doubt.”
“They can say something to themselves what not a lot of people can say— that their actions definitely saved the life of another person.”
“People like to think that everyone in jail is a bad person. That’s just not the case,” said Arnett.
“There are bad people in jail, don’t get me wrong. But there are also people in there who’ve just made a mistake or made a bad decision and now they’re going to have to pay the consequences. But they’re still human. They still have emotions, and conscience, and morals.”
The inmates seem to echo Arnett’s opinion: “I watched him [the officer] die twice,” inmate Floyd Smith told WFAA.
“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. Seems natural to me.”
Since being uploaded to YouTube, the inmates’ incredible rescue has been viewed over 14 million times!
See it for yourself below.
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