“AN internal affairs investigation has been initiated and the officers involved with escorting the [detainee] have been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation,” Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres said in a statement on Friday.
The detainee, Joey Maratita, was apprehended close to four hours after he escaped while receiving medical treatment at the Commonwealth Health Center on Wednesday evening.
Maratita has been charged with escape, Torres said, adding that an after-action plan is forthcoming.
“An after-action plan following an escape typically involves a comprehensive review of the circumstances surrounding the event and aims to identify areas for improvement to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Torres said.
The plan may include the following steps:
1) Review and analysis. Gather all available information about the escape, security vulnerabilities, and response procedure. Analyze the sequence of events leading up to the escape and the immediate actions taken to address it.
2) Identifying weaknesses. Determine the specific weaknesses in security protocols, physical infrastructure, staff procedures or any other contributing factors that facilitated the escape.
3) Recommendations for improvement. Develop specific recommendations or action items to address the identified weaknesses. This may include updates to security protocols, additional training for staff, or procedural changes.
4) Implementation. Once the recommendations are established, assign responsibilities for implementing the proposed changes and establish a timeline for completion.
5) Training and preparedness. Conduct training sessions to ensure that staff members are familiar with any revised procedures and protocols. This may also involve conducting preparedness drills to test the effectiveness of new measures.
6) Continuous monitoring. Establish a system for ongoing monitoring and feedback to assess the effectiveness of the implemented changes. This may involve regular security audits, staff feedback mechanisms, and regular reviews of security procedures.
Torres said, “It’s essential to learn from past incidents and continuously improve security protocols to safeguard against similar events.”
Maratita’s apprehension “was a joint effort across the board,” Torres added. “However, for the record it was my [Corrections] officers who captured the inmate at the Old Japanese Jail. I responded to this call [with] boots on the ground and deployed my staff to checkpoints. I requested…acting [Department of Public Safety] Commissioner Inos to activate the DPS-Rapid Response Task Force and deploy officers to the NMI judges’ respective homes. I requested for additional assistance from Customs and activated the U.S. Marshals Task Force. As I was on my way to the command center at DPS, my [Corrections] officers apprehended Maritita…,” Torres said.
“I will say, for something like this to happen and have everybody come together collaboratively is how we should be as a Commonwealth. We should be working together in times of crisis. Unfortunately, things like this happen even in other areas of the world. This is something we can learn from,” he added.
Maratita has been medically cleared from CHC, allowing him to return to Corrections where he was placed in isolation.
Because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Torres did not say why Maratita was brought to the hospital on Wednesday evening. A federal law, HIPPAA was enacted to protect sensitive patient health information.
Prior to Maratita’s escape, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho denied the detainee’s request to modify his bail to $2,000 from $10,000, and to allow him to post 10% or $200 of the $2,000 bail.
Maratita was charged and arrested for violating a temporary restraining order and causing a disturbance at Chacha Ocean View Middle School on Jan. 17, resulting in a school lockdown.
