TDCJ TO RESUME INMATE TRANSPORTATION MONDAY
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is resuming inmate transportation on Monday.
The agency temporarily paused transports this week following the escape of Gonzalo Lopez from a prison bus on May 12th near Centerville. A grandfather and his four grandsons were discovered dead in a home near where Lopez escaped, and he was killed in a shootout with law enforcement close to San Antonio.
TDCJ Executive Director Bryan Collier said the safety of the public “is the first duty and highest obligation” of the agency. He said it has completed a review of its transportation protocols and “will be taking the necessary steps to add additional security measures when moving inmates through the state on its roadways.”
New safety measures include, but are not limited to:
- Three officers will be required on transport buses.
- Enhanced search procedures of an inmate before boarding a transport vehicle.
- New video surveillance equipment will be installed on transport vehicles.
- Inmates determined to be the highest risk will be transported by themselves.
- Unit medical capabilities will be enhanced to reduce the need for offsite transport.
- An independent security review will be conducted by an outside party.
The results of the TDCJ’s serious incident review and independent security review will be made public once complete.