Prisoners bust out of locked Texas cell to help unconscious jailer
A jailer in Texas may owe his survival from an apparent heart attack to group of prisoners who saw him fall ill and busted out of a locked cell to call for help.
The jailer was watching the inmates in the basement of the Parker County courthouse in Weatherford June 23 when he lost consciousness and fell to the floor, WFAA-TV in Dallas reported Thursday.
A group of about eight prisoners broke out of the cell and in a survelliance video are seen screaming for help and banging on walls, the station reported.
One of them Nick Kelton said they all knew the danger involved in doing what they did.
“Was a little worried because they were going to come with their guns drawn on us,” he told the station.
Parker County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Speegle agreed it could have been hairy.
“He had keys,” Speegle said of the jailer. “Had a gun. It could have been an extremely bad situation.”
Kelton said no one was thinking about trying to escape.
“It never crossed my mind not to help whether he’s got a gun or a badge,” he told WFAA. “If he falls down, I’m gonna help him.”
The jailer was attended to by paramedics. He's gotten the okay to return to work, the station reported.
The cell’s lock was repaired so it can’t be broken again.