Two Telford Unit correctional officers received awards last week for their fast action in an attempted hostage situation.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice gave Paula Greer and Kimberly Haney its Valor Award on Oct. 20 for rescuing a prison nurse from an inmate this summer, a TDCJ news release states.
On July 26, an inmate charged into a medical examination room, closed the door, put a nurse in a choke hold and held a homemade weapon to her neck.
Haney opened the door and ordered the offender to release the nurse. When he refused to do so, she sprayed him with chemical agent. "Almost simultaneously," the release states, Greer also sprayed the inmate, who then released the nurse.
Haney pulled the nurse out of the room, and both officers subdued the inmate, securing his weapon, before moving him to a different location in the Telford Unit.
"Both officers did an outstanding job that day. We are very fortunate that they used their training to quickly defuse the situation while sticking to the agency's core values," Telford Unit Warden Joseph Wilson said.
Greer has worked for TDCJ for nine years, and Haney has for 12 years.
The Barry B. Telford Unit is a state prison in Bowie County, Texas, with the capacity to house more than 2,800 inmates.