By Kathy Mellott
The Tribune-Democrat
EBENSBURG — Corrections Officer Matthew Hale shook and cried out at Cambria County Prison on Friday as he took the full force of electric shock from a stun gun as part of a hands-on demonstration of one of the many resources workers at the facility use to keep inmates under control.
The demonstration, conducted at the extreme discomfort of Hale, was observed by 100 or more “guests” at the 500-bed lockup as part of an effort to keep the public informed about what the corrections officers face on a regular basis.
Held in the indoor recreation area of the 20-year-old prison, the demonstration illustrating the skills of the Cambria County Correctional Emergency Response Team attracted District Attorney Kelly Callihan and commissioners Douglas Lengenfelder and Thomas Chernisky.
But the largest group was made up of officials of the United Mine Workers of America and union members who serve as corrections officers at prisons in more than a half-dozen counties in the region.
The training and effectiveness of Cambria CERT speaks volumes, said Casey Mullooly, UMW international representative from Homer City.
“I think it’s great. It’s a testimony to the degree the workers and management are able work together,” Mullooly said following the 90-minute demonstration.
The prison has 31 CERT members with schedules planned so that at least five or six are on each shift seven days a week, Hale said.
“All of our corrections officers learn the basic skills as well so that anyone of our officers – CERT or not – are trained and prepared,” he said.
The dozen CERT members participating Friday demonstrated the wide range of scenarios the corrections officers can encounter at the facility.
Coordinators for CERT are Hale and corrections Officer Dan Link. Both ran the team through scenarios of how inmates may create problems, including a couple inmates causing a disturbance of individual attacks.
While guns are always an option, the focus of CERT is to use less lethal weapons including stun guns, pepper bombs and chemical grenades.
Also readily available is Hero, the K-9 officer in the care of Cambria County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Szymusiak.
Hero’s training is in narcotics detection and crowd control, but he handily demonstrated how he can bring an individual who poses a danger into compliance.
The demonstrations showed how the team handles riot-type incidents when a number of inmates start attacking corrections officers and begin fighting among themselves.
Also demonstrated were incidents of a small number of CERT members bringing an out-of-control inmate into compliance without weapons and with very little force.
An incident when an inmate refuses to come out of the cell and may have booby traps set up offers one of the greatest situations for concern, Hale said.
Nearly a decade ago, an incident resulted in an inmate taking a corrections officer hostage inside his cell and breaking the officer’s jaw.
Three hours after inmate Torone Dixon took corrections Officer Ross Morealli hostage, CERT members rushed the cell and fired a shot just as the inmate was about to plunge a handmade shank into the officer.
Dixon was killed, and an outside investigation determined CERT members’ actions were warranted.
Prison Warden John Prebish said Friday that the efforts are about keeping the facility safe for the corrections officers and the hundreds of inmates, most of whom never cause a problem.
“These gentlemen take a lot of pride in what they do, and it is possible because of the great support from the Cambria County Prison Board,” Prebish told the audience. “It’s definitely making sure people stay safe.”
All CERT members serve as volunteers, including time for training or calls to the facility on their off-duty hours.