Escaped inmate is killed by police

At Laurel hospital, man overpowered guards, took gun, shot off chains

This week, officials said, Poke was being treated in an unsecured area in the Laurel hospital. Two guards were assigned to him - an unarmed officer who kept close contact and an armed officer in visual contact, said Rick Binetti, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Two more officers kept watch over another inmate nearby. It was unclear how Poke was able to get the officers' weapons.

Correctional officers get weapons training, but "the fact of the matter is, you are in a confined area and all sorts of things can happen," said Moran, the union president. He said that's why guards do not carry guns inside prisons, though they have them in guard towers.

Moran said state corrections officials need to re-examine their arrangements with medical facilities. He said hospitals in Baltimore have police on duty and more secured areas for the treatment of prisoners than in Laurel.

Binetti said the state will be reviewing policies and procedures but had no immediate plans to make changes.

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Sun reporters Nicole Fuller, Greg Garland and Ruma Kumar contributed to this article.