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Grand Jury Finds Insufficient Evidence Of Any Criminal Wrongdoing In Jail Explosion
November 21, 2014
An Escambia County Grand Jury has found that there was insufficient evidence to establish an criminal charges in connection with the April 2014 explosion at the Escambia County Jail.
According to the grand jury’s findings, gas clothes dryers are seen on video pulling away from a wall in the flooded basement of the jail. At about the same time, natural gas records show a substantial spike in the amount of natural gas flowing into the Central Booking and Detention Center. The spike continued through the day and night of April 30.
During this time, both jail staff and inmates reported the smell of natural gas to jails supervisors and maintenance employees. A maintenance employee located what he thought was a leak at a propane tank farm located north of the facility. He cut off a valve which he believed stopped the leak. But reading taken from the tanks show the same level of propane before and after the flood; the grand jury found that the propane tanks were in no way responsible for the odor of gas within the jail.
At 11:15 p.m. on April 3, a spark from an unknown source ignited the natural gas causing an explosion.
Two inmates were killed and hundreds of staff and inmates were injured in the blast.
The grand jury recommended that:
- The Central Booking and Detention Center and the main jail be returned to the supervision of the sheriff for the most efficient operation of the facilities. The corrections facilities are currently under the control of the Escambia County Commission.
- No future jail be built on the current site of the Central Booking and Detention Center.
- Improvements be made in safety procedures. Employees believed they were limited in making emergency reports only to their immediate supervisors. It was recommended that a safety officer be appointed or designated on each shift.
- The basement area of the Central Booking and Detention Center should have never been rebuilt following a 2012 flood. “We recommend that Escambia County make a full disclosure as to how this decision was made,” the grand jury’s report states.
- Escambia County concentrate on storm water control measures, first on county owned facilities, then on Escambia County as a whole.
- Pensacola Energy should review and locate any cut-off valves so that they are located outside flood prone areas. In addition, main gas lines should be marked to allow immediate access in case of an emergency.
The grand jury report concluded by commending the corrections officers and staff of the Central Booking and Detention Center for the outstanding job they did during the flood and subsequent explosion.
Comments
18 Responses to “Grand Jury Finds Insufficient Evidence Of Any Criminal Wrongdoing In Jail Explosion”
CONTEMPLATING:
“a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich if the puppetmaster in the SA office so determines……and now recommendations from a grand jury…….does anybody else see the problem?”
Yes. It would be wrong to indict any ham sandwiches.
David for not abusing power
recommendations from a grand jury……a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich if the puppetmaster in the SA office so determines……and now recommendations from a grand jury…….does anybody else see the problem?
The best thing on the list, let the Sheriff take back over the jail. Politicians have no business operating a jail. At least the Grand Jury has some common sense. There will me more problems in the future if the County Commissioners run the jail.
REGARDING:
“Go figure, the cops investigating themselves.”
A grand jury is not composed of “cops”.
David for truth
“David, any civilian or private entity whose negligence in responding to reports of leaking gas that ultimately killed two people and injured hundreds of others would be charged with criminal negligence or manslaughter.”
So every corrections officer should be charged with manslaughter, even the ones crippled by the explosion?
Fascinating
David for shotgun indictments
REGARDING:
PS why do you always comment & pick apart other peoples comments or opinions ? Instead of just commenting on the news article itself …”
I don’t.
I usually just comment on false statements. A neighbor of mine was killed in the explosion but he wasn’t a close friend, not that it would matter. Nobody intentionally blew him up.
Since everybody who should have known to shut off the gas was in danger of being blown up, I just don’t believe any of them was likely to have not done so knowingly. Further, without the information the grand jury had, it would be wrong to fault them and I haven’t.
David for the benefit of the doubt
@ DH Green , I would bet you wouldn’t think it was “silly” or “unbecoming of a Americn citizen” , if it were your friends or relatives that were killed or injured in that explosion!! PS why do you always comment & pick apart other peoples comments or opinions ? Instead of just commenting on the news article itself ….
Go figure, the cops investigating themselves. Did anyone actually expect a different outcome. Not likely. Times are gonna change soon.
The grand jury findings directly affect the insurance payouts and FEMA checks. Because the explosion was not due to negligence, but due to flooding, the county now gets full payment. Less for us taxpayers to kick in for the new facility.
David, any civilian or private entity whose negligence in responding to reports of leaking gas that ultimately killed two people and injured hundreds of others would be charged with criminal negligence or manslaughter. Yes, their job is to maintain control of convicted criminals, but they are also solely responsible for their well-being. And based on this ruling, there is no accountability to be held for their negligence.
Bob C.
From the article it appears they do have some sort of on-site pressure and flow data loggers that store such info.
Perhaps they do not set off an alarm locally or to the gas company when drastic changes occur?
Perhaps if a mainline upstream of many customers has a big enough leak, they do.
I wonder why the have a propane tank farm? What is the propane used for?
To run emergency generators if the natural gas stops?
It does not matter that Valentino dodged a bullet on this one as he was voted out of office anyway.
Relatively speaking, gone is gone.
Move along-nothing to see here.
The power that is walks free among us.
Is there any mechanism to alert the gas company when “… natural gas records show a substantial spike in the amount of natural gas flowing…”???
Just seems when there would be a sudden and unexpected “substantial spike” in gas flow that it should make someone in the gas department pay attention.
Regarding:
“So once again it’s a “these things happen, sorry about your dead loved ones, but if they didn’t want to be dead, they shouldn’t have been in jail”. No accountability, no justice, no one taking any responsibility, just a shrug of the shoulders and an “oops”. “
What do you think would have been justice?
What existing law did anyone knowingly break?
They were dealing with criminal liability, not civil liability.
This silliness of thinking somebody should be convicted of a crime if something bad happens is unbecoming of an American citizen.
It implies total ignorance of the concept of justice.
AND
“Just like in Ferguson,”
Something blew up during a flood in Ferguson because the workers didn’t know to shut down the gas flow?
There was a killing and dispute on what happened.
Those who want to lynch the officer seem to know exactly what happened from thousands of miles away.
That would be no justice.
David for natural gas in its place
and people knowing how to use it properly
So once again it’s a “these things happen, sorry about your dead loved ones, but if they didn’t want to be dead, they shouldn’t have been in jail”. No accountability, no justice, no one taking any responsibility, just a shrug of the shoulders and an “oops”. Just like in Ferguson, just like in Sandy Springs, just like on Wall Street, just like in Washington.
Its still sad that people died during this event! its just hard for me to believe with all of the new electronic devices on the market to detect gas. but the smell alone is the first sign of trouble which should have been investigate asap!!! that smell is like no other….You should never smell that odor unless there is a leaking pipe or valve!!! this is the outcome from not investigating it until the leak was found and repaired!!! anytime you smell any “gas” odor in a commercial building get out until professionals are 100% sure it’s repaired and the gas smell is gone 100%. unlike the Jail, refuse to go back inside if you still smell gas period.
Go figure. There were reported incidents if gas smell weeks before the explosion. Let the civil suits begin.