(NEW ORLEANS) — Embattled Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson announced on Wednesday that she is suspending her reelection campaign a day after she accepted blame for the escape of 10 inmates from the New Orleans jail she oversees.
Facing mounting pressure over the mass jailbreak that allegedly involved member of her staff, Hutson said she is suspending her campaign to focus her attention on “security, accountability and public safety.”
Five of the 10 inmates who escaped the jail early Friday remained on the run on Wednesday, including one who is a convicted killer and two who have been charged with second-degree murder.
Hutson’s announcement came as she is faces growing calls from state representatives, crime victims and others to resign.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Hutson accepted blame for the breakout after a maintenance worker at the Orleans Justice Center, where the breakout occurred, was arrested on charges alleging he helped facilitate the escape. Hutson also announced that four other jail staff have been suspended and are under investigation for possible involvement in the jailbreak.
“I take full responsibility for what happened. This breach happened under my leadership, and it is my responsibility to ensure it is addressed with urgency and transparency,” Hutson said in her statement on Tuesday.
“To date, we have suspended staff, made an arrest, and launched comprehensive internal and external investigations,” she added. “We are also fully cooperating with the independent investigation led by the Louisiana Attorney General, and we have provided full access to all records, surveillance footage, and facility documentation.”
The 10 inmates exited the jail through a wall behind a toilet at 1:01 a.m. on Friday, Hutson said at an earlier news conference. They then made their way off the property through a loading dock door and scaled the perimeter wall using blankets to protect themselves from the barbed wire, according to the sheriff’s office. From there, officials said they had a clear path to the railroad tracks and then the interstate.
The inmates weren’t discovered missing until 8:30 a.m. Friday, when jail officials conducted a routine headcount, sheriff’s officials said.
The U.S. Marshals, Louisiana State Police and Probation and Parole were not notified of the escape until 9:30 a.m. on Friday, the sheriff’s office said. New Orleans police officials said they were notified at 10:30 a.m.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said he didn’t find out until a member of the news media called to ask him to confirm the breakout at about 10 a.m. on Friday. He said the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the jail, failed to notify local police and the public immediately.
“The public is the sixth man on the team in a jailbreak. You want to let the public know immediately when something like this happens,” Williams said. “The public was denied the opportunity to participate in this manhunt for eight hours. Law enforcement was denied the opportunity to start looking.”
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