Friday's armed inmate escape from North Colorado Medical Center could easily have left a second person dead.
The key factors were the intervention of some additional emergency personnel and a stroke of perhaps serendipitous luck, according to new details revealed in a Weld County Sheriff's Office news release Tuesday.
Those involved in the incident reported that Raul Alaniz Jr., 32, pulled the trigger of a gun he took from a deputy as he pointed it at a Johnstown firefighter who tried to intervene in the emergency room struggle, according to the release. The gun did not fire, and Alaniz, who had an extensive criminal history, later killed himself with the gun.
"We're getting a bigger picture of everything that happened with the video and interviews that have taken place," said Tim Schwartz, spokesman for the Weld Sheriff's Office.
Schwartz said the office will continue with interviews and put together a timeline based on multiple videos, as well as dispatch logs. A full report of the incident won't be released for about four weeks, he said.
Schwartz also revealed for the first time that a Greeley police officer followed Alaniz out of the hospital parking lot to determine where he was hiding, which helped police set up a perimeter to contain the escapee.
Alaniz was in the emergency room of NCMC after complaining of blood in his urine earlier that morning. He had already undergone a medical procedure, and he managed to slip out of the handcuff that secured him to his bed.
Alaniz then assaulted corrections officer Ryan Walker, and took his .40-caliber gun to escape.
Interviews with personnel at the scene, as well as videos of the event, revealed that the firefighter, who was in the ER at the time, tried to help Walker as he fought with Alaniz, the release stated.
Alaniz pointed the gun at the firefighter and pulled the trigger, but it did not fire, the release stated. That incident was not on video but gleaned from further interviews from those involved on scene, Schwartz said.
Weld Sheriff's Deputy Paige Stupka, whom Walker relieved for a lunch break, was returning to the hospital as Alaniz -- who was wearing an orange jail outfit and leg shackles -- was shuffling and hopping out of the hospital. The released stated he pointed the gun at Stupka and ordered her out of the way.
"Deputy Stupka was able to move out of the way of Alaniz before he could fire the weapon at her," the release stated.
Alaniz then got into an unlocked car in the parking lot, but left the vehicle quickly, in what witnesses described as a hopping motion. Schwartz said that detail was originally reported as an attempted car-jacking, but further information did not corroborate that.
A Greeley police officer, who also was in the ER with his own prisoner, gave chase to Alaniz, as well.
"He became aware at some point the bad guy was escaping with a gun, the officer chased him out of the hospital, across the parking lot, and determined the general direction he was probably hiding in," said Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner, who did not name the officer.
"With the Greeley officer and the sheriff calls, we were able to get the area cordoned off. ... No shots were fired between the officer and the bad guy. There was no contact. The officer just pursued him out of hospital."
Alaniz went into a nearby house and took a hostage. Nearly two hours later, he shot and killed himself as a SWAT team surrounded the home.
Hospital personnel will review the incident in meetings today, reviewing policies dealing with violent or disruptive patients and patients in police custody.
Hospital spokesman Gene Haffner said hospital staff did exactly what they were supposed to do in a situation where a patient had a gun. They did not engage him.
"In my opinion, they went above and beyond to go outside and try to observe where he went to so they would have additional information for law enforcement to pursue and /or investigate," Haffner said.
Schwartz refused to release information about the corrections' officer's gun, whether it was a department-issued gun or if it was his own. Schwartz also would not reveal what happened inside the house, where Alaniz took the man hostage.
The release stated that no officers fired their weapons in the incident.
Copyright 2012 - Greeley Tribune, Colo.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
