Torres proposes to suspend two DOC officers

Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres has proposed that the two officers who were on guard when an inmate escaped while being treated at the Commonwealth Health Center last Jan. 24 be suspended.

It was learned from Torres this week that the Internal Affairs investigation he had initiated to look into how inmate Joey Maratita managed to escape is now finished and that he had proposed to DOC’s Internal Affairs to have the two correction officers suspended without pay.

“After a thorough Internal Affairs investigation was conducted, I proposed to suspend the two officers involved without pay. I want the community to know that their safety and security is a top priority and that DOC is committed to working diligently to ensure similar events like this don’t occur,” he said.

Torres also shared some updates on what has been done following the escape.

“I called for an After-Action Review, which was conducted a few days after the incident with all partners involved to include the Department of Public Safety, NMI Judiciary, Customs, and U.S Marshals Service. It was a productive meeting where we all shared important information and processed the incident,” he said.

Torres also noted that DOC has since identified weaknesses within the department and has made recommendations for improvement, which includes updates to security protocols, additional training for staff, and procedural changes.

“As a Department of Corrections, we all came together to review and analyze the sequence of events leading up to the incident and the immediate actions taken to address it. We identified weaknesses and made recommendations for improvement, which included updates to security protocols, additional training for staff and procedural changes. We have implemented revised procedures to protocols while on escort trips and enhanced training and preparedness for all staff, to include a mandatory Annual Refresher Training. We will also establish a system for ongoing monitoring and feedback to assess the effectiveness of the implemented changes,” he said.

Maratita managed to elude his two DOC escorts while he was being treated at the Commonwealth Health Center last Jan. 24. He was apprehended by DOC officers late that same evening near the old Japanese jail in Garapan.

Anthony Torres