New surveillance video shows teens’ violent escape, attack of staff member at Echo Glen
Dec 19, 2023, 10:35 AM | Updated: Dec 20, 2023, 9:45 am
(Photo from KIRO 7)
(Photo from KIRO 7)
KIRO 7 has obtained both surveillance and body camera video through a public records request of the mass breakout at Echo Glen Children’s Center on May 28.
In this video, we are seeing for the first time the moments a guard was assaulted by some of those inmates as she was checking if everyone in that block was asleep. After the initial attack, those inmates throw her in an empty cell and steal her car keys and other belongings. The video also shows the moments one of the inmates rushes behind a computer to unlock the other cells. Seven inmates were able to take off in the guard’s Chevy Equinox.
Three of the seven inmates were arrested in Burien, about 30 miles from the facility later that day. Body camera footage from a deputy shows the inmates on the ground and surrendering when approached by law enforcement. Several days after the jailbreak, the other four were detained in Vancouver, Washington, after a relative of an inmate called 911 to turn them in.
In the report from the King County Sheriff’s Office, we are getting a clearer picture of how the escape was executed. An inmate told a guard in that report that two inmates hid in the bathroom before bed check and claims staff never checked them. That same inmate also told detectives they put fake bodies in the cells to fool staff. The guard claims she was assaulted for at least ten minutes before being thrown in the cell, where she sustained several injuries, including bruising around the neck area. She was later discovered by staff members.
The most recent attempted escape happened on Nov. 26. According to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, three inmates tried to escape but did not make it off the property and no staff were hurt.
A spokesperson told KIRO 7 that after that attempted escape they were implementing new procedures to improve safety, one of which is a project in the works to hopefully build fencing around the facility.
As of late November, Echo Glen is in the “design phase” for the fence with permitting likely issued “shortly after the near year.” It’s estimated that the perimeter fence will be fully built by July 2025.
