Arkansas Officials Report More Staff Disciplined at Prison Following Ex-Police Chief’s Escape

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – More staff at an Arkansas prison have faced disciplinary action for not adhering to protocols following the escape of a convicted murderer, dubbed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” earlier this summer, a state prison official informed lawmakers on Monday.

Dexter Payne, Director of the Arkansas Division of Correction, stated that several employees at the Calico Rock prison had been suspended, and one was demoted for permitting inmates to use an outdoor kitchen dock without supervision. Payne did not disclose the number of suspended employees or their identities.

“Those employees have also faced disciplinary measures for their conduct,” Payne mentioned to the members of the Legislative Council’s Charitable, Penal and Correctional Institutions Subcommittee.

The dock was a significant factor in Grant Hardin’s escape on May 25 from the facility, officially known as the North Central Unit. Two employees, including one who allowed Hardin unsupervised access to the dock, were dismissed weeks after his escape. Hardin had been employed in the prison’s kitchen.

Hardin was apprehended 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the Calico Rock prison on June 6. Authorities reported he fled by disguising himself in an attire resembling that of a law enforcement officer. The disguise was made from an inmate uniform and a kitchen apron, dyed black with a marker. Additionally, a soup can lid and a Bible cover were adapted to mimic a badge, correction officials shared with the panel last month.

The other employee who had been fired earlier had opened the gate that Hardin walked through without confirming his identity.

Payne mentioned that corrections officials are almost finished with the report on the critical incident review of the escape. A report from the State Police’s inquiry into the escape has also been forwarded to the governor’s office, according to the Department of Public Services.

Payne said the review also found that Hardin had been incorrectly classified as eligible to be housed at Calico Rock, which is primarily a medium-security facility. Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017. Payne said he didn’t know why Hardin wasn’t correctly classified.

“Without an override, he should not have been there,” Payne said.

After he was captured, Hardin was taken to a maximum-security prison. Hardin has pleaded not guilty to an escape charge and is set to go on trial in November.

Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”

One change that has been made at the facility since the escape is an increase in searches outside the facility, Payne said. Officials have previously said Hardin fashioned a ladder out of wooden pallets that he kept on the dock.

“The back dock area was not searched enough, or they would have found he was hiding items on that back dock,” he said.

Payne faced further pushback from lawmakers who said the escape points to a more systemic issue than two employees not doing their job.

“Yeah, people didn’t do their job, but also there should be checks and balances to ensure that people do their job,” Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore said. “Where are those checks and balances?”