Inmates are not allowed to leave their bunks at night, time in the shower is scheduled and slip-on shoes are a part of the dress code at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center.
Correctional officers keep a close eye on inmates, but at least two of those rules were broken early Tuesday when a detainee tried to commit suicide in a shower at the jail. He is being held for violating parole.
The inmate, a 25-year-old man who was not identified, used a bedsheet to create a noose, according to a news release from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.
Quick thinking by a correctional officer saved the inmate's life, and now county officials are grateful that someone stopped him before it was too late.
"CFC. (Michael) Hahn is to be commended for being very diligent and observant in the performance of what are often very mundane duties in a difficult environment," Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins in a statement released Thursday. "Incidents like this one should make the public aware of the situations that correctional officers deal with inside of the detention center."
Hahn, a 10-year detention center veteran, was doing a routine check at about 3:30 a.m. when he saw an inmate in the shower, according to a news release.
The inmate had closed the shower curtain but did not turn the water on. Hahn then looked behind the curtain and found the inmate with a noose around his neck, the release said. The inmate had twisted a bedsheet and tied it to a shower nozzle to fashion the noose.
Hahn took the noose off the inmate's neck and escorted him to the jail medical staff. The inmate was not hurt; he was placed on suicide watch.
A congratulatory message from County Manager David Dunn came after the sheriff's office release information about the incident involving Hahn and the inmate.
"The officers of the Detention Center and Sheriff's Department's hard and dedicated work sometimes goes unrecognized," Dunn said in an email.
Last year, a correctional officer prevented another suicide attempt, according to Lt. Col. William DeLauter, Corrections Bureau chief. The incident involved an inmate who slit his wrists, but jail personnel saved him even though he had become combative, DeLauter said.
DeLauter credited Hahn's work to training and experience.
Each year, correctional officers are required to participate in service training. Learning how to detect a suicide is part of their lessons, DeLauter said.
The most recent suicide at the jail was in 2010, when a Walkersville woman hanged herself from a bunk, according to Frederick News-Post archives.
To prevent inmate suicide, the jail offers a number of programs to inmates who need counseling or are dealing with an addiction.
Those placed on suicide watch meet with a counselor at least once a week, DeLauter said.
Copyright 2012 - The Frederick News-Post, Md.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
