By Philip Jankowski
Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas — The escape of an inmate – convicted for biting off a man’s finger in Pflugerville in 2012 – has triggered an investigation into whether the corrections officer who briefly left Parker alone at a hospital violated any protocols.
Sources identified Stephen Harris as a senior corrections officer. He has worked for the Travis County sheriff’s office since 2005, records show.
Harris remains on active duty as he and the escape of Travis County inmate Dacious “Corey” Parker are under investigation, sheriff’s office spokesman Roger Wade said.
“We’re looking into the policies and procedures like we do for every critical incident,” Wade said.
A task force with the U.S. Marshals Service caught Parker July 1 in north Houston, four days after he escaped from custody while being treated at University Medical Center Brackenridge under Harris’ guard.
According to sources, Parker, 24, escaped while Harris used a hospital restroom. Parker was in a wheelchair when Harris last saw him. Before his capture, Parker was last seen running down 15th Street in a hospital gown.
Harris’ attorney, Brad Heilman, said the officer did not help Parker with his escape in any way.
The sheriff’s office would not comment on protocols for guarding inmates being treated at hospitals. Wade said providing that kind of information could compromise inmate security.
Before his escape last month, Parker was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June for biting off and swallowing part of a man’s finger in 2012. The incident occurred at a Pflugerville nail salon after Parker began opening drawers behind a counter. After he was confronted, Parker bit multiple people.
Parker’s criminal history in the Austin area also includes arrests for assaults, burglaries and robberies, court records show.
He had been in the Travis County Jail since February and was awaiting transportation to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison when he escaped.
On Thursday, Parker was in Harris County Jail, where he was charged with misdemeanor evading arrest. During his capture last week, Parker attempted to flee police by climbing through a window but was subdued by a stun gun, said U.S. Marshals Service Deputy Hector Gomez.
Parker will face charges in Harris County before he is brought back to Travis County, where he is charged with escape, a felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the sheriff’s office said.