Prisoner Calls 911 on Escapees

On Tuesday, September 24, 2013, Joshua Silverman was one of eight prisoners being transported to their respective destinations, in different states, by the Prison Transport Service. (PTS) The van transporting the prisoners parked at a hospital while the drivers took two men inside for treatment. While inside, the guards left the keys in the van with the engine running, and the remaining eight men unsupervised. That is when Lester Burns and Michael Coleman decided to make their getaway.

The two men managed to kick down a partition that separated the prisoners from the cab of the van. After driving a short distance they turned off the road and continued their escape on foot. Of the six remaining prisoners, all but Silverman remained with the van.

After Burns and Coleman left Silverman eased into the front seat, found a cellphone and called 911.

“Ma'am, you're probably not going to believe this,” he said, “but I'm a prisoner in a van, and I'm here with a couple of these other cats. A couple of the guys that were in the van jacked the van at the hospital,” Silverman explained to the operator. “We're in Oklahoma somewhere, I don't know because we're not on a road and I'm not from here. I just don't want to get shot by no cops or nothing.”

While still on the phone, a shackled Silverman made his way to the nearest road and flagged down the police.

Concerns were raised about how PTS conducts its business.

“Nobody's really watching these guys. There's little if any accountability for the citizen,” said Brady Henderson of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

On its website, PTS claims to be the largest prisoner extradition company in the United States, but the company itself is governed by minimal federal guidelines. Prisoner transportation companies are required to notify local law enforcement only if they have a scheduled stop in that state. They are also required to conduct background checks and on-the-job training of its employees.

“Companies can be penalized if they violate regulations, but there's no money for enforcement. No agency whose job it is to watch these folks,” said Henderson. “Unlike a state or federal agency, there's no way to have a chain of accountability.”

In 2009 PTS lost an attempted murder suspect somewhere between Pennsylvania and Florida. In 1995, at Philadelphia International Airport, a prisoner in shackles managed to escape PTS custody and was found a week later in Maryland. But because the industry is involves interstate commerce, state lawmakers are unable to do much about the lack of regulation.

As for Coleman and Burns, they were captured later the same day, thanks to the help of Silverman.

“We didn't know what direction they were traveling in and his call helped us pinpoint their location,” said Weatherford assistant police chief Louis Flowers.

Sources: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2434817/Oklahoma-prisoner-calls-911-report-inmates-escaping-hijacked-prison-van-transported-in.html?ito=feeds-newsxml; http://kfor.com/2013/09/25/daring-prison-van-escape-raises-concerns-over-industry-safety/; http://huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/olkahoma-prison-escape_n_3986366.html