Guard badly beaten as two men briefly escape police custody

Edmonton police say they are re-examining their policies after two men pushed past a guard and escaped custody Sunday night.

Both were being held in cells in the Southwest Division station, under guard by a contracted security officer. Just before midnight, one man asked the guard to open the cell and give him some toilet paper.

"Upon opening the door, the door was pushed into him and he was knocked to the the ground," said deputy chief Tony Harder.

"Once he hit the ground, he was kicked and punched and beaten quite severely, actually."

While the guard was on the ground, the man grabbed a set of keys and unlocked another prisoner's cell. Both then went through an exit door, sounding an alarm.

Two officers who were arriving at the station heard the alarm and spotted one man running away. Police caught one escapee minutes later.

The other was found an hour and a half later, after a search involving officers and the police helicopter.

Harder said neither man posed a danger to the public while they were free.

The guard was taken to hospital and later released. Harder said he is recovering and is "in good spirits."

According to a police release sent out Monday afternoon, both men had been arrested separately, and both were suspected of violent crimes.

However, Harder later said only one was violent.

The guard was the only one in the room when he opened the door, Harder said, although others were nearby in the building. The prisoner did not appear violent before the incident, he said.

"It was a judgement made by the guard. If the prisoner had been exhibiting violent tendencies, we would have had someone else there."

Harder said in light of the escape, the department will re-examine its procedures to deal with holding prisoners.