Jail Transfer Of Ex-Official Highlights Safety Tactic

Facilities Often Move High-Risk Inmates in Md.

When Keith A. Washington was convicted of shooting two unarmed furniture deliverymen in a high-profile case, officials wondered how they would keep him safe behind bars.

Officials said they thought that ensuring the ex-police officer's safety in the crowded Prince George's County Detention Center would be complicated and difficult. Then county corrections officers came up with a solution: They transferred Washington to the Calvert County jail. He spent three days in the Prince George's jail before he was taken to the Calvert facility.

For decades, jail officials in the Washington area's Maryland suburbs have helped each other with "courtesy transfers," in which inmates who pose unusual security risks are taken in by detention centers in other facilities.

Washington, 46, who was also a high-ranking homeland security official in Prince George's, fits several high-security categories. Other inmates who could pose security challenges include gang members in jail with numerous rival gang members or an inmate who is a state witness against other detainees, officials said.

There is no written agreement regarding courtesy transfers. Officials at jails in several Maryland suburbs said they help other jurisdictions willingly, knowing they will get such help in return. Officials said they turn to detention centers that are close geographically because inmates often have court dates in the jurisdiction in which they were prosecuted.

"We find this kind of agreement to be of great value, though we only use it sparingly," said Alfred J. McMurray Sr., director of the Prince George's County Department of Corrections.

Officials said they request such transfers a few times annually.

"It is incredibly valuable to ensure the safety of a high-profile person in their own jurisdiction and to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest," said Arthur Wallenstein, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.

Wallenstein and other directors said transfers are sometimes done when a conflict of interest exists for the jail.

Such a case occurred about five years ago in Anne Arundel County, said Robin Harting, superintendent of the Anne Arundel County Department of Detention Facilities.

A defendant was accused of killing a family member of a correctional officer who worked at the Anne Arundel jail, Harting said. The defendant was transferred to the jail in Howard County.

Such transfers are designed to ensure not only the safety of inmates but the protection of correctional officers and other staff members from allegations that they mistreated particular inmates, officials said.

Harting and other jail officials said they try to accommodate every request to take an inmate temporarily from other detention centers.

"We all realize we are going to be in a position of holding inmates who are problematic, for one reason or another," Harting said.

"The main thing is to keep correctional officers and inmates safe," said Kristen Timko, spokeswoman for the Charles County Sheriff's Department, which runs that county's jail.

Milton M. Crump, director of the Calvert County Detention Center, said inmate transfers are conducted in a simple manner: The director of one jail asks the director of another if that facility will take the inmate and then obtains a written order from the judge handling the inmate's case.

For instance, McMurray sent a letter to Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Whalen asking for permission to transfer Washington. The letter cited the fact that Washington is a high-profile defendant.

The letter was written Feb. 25, the day a Prince George's jury convicted Washington of involuntary manslaughter and other offenses in connection with the Jan. 24, 2007, incident in which he shot the two deliverymen at his home in Accokeek.