Henderson County Jailer Bruce Todd says since a Jan. 26 escape, detention center trustees are not allowed to take trash out at night.
He said that is the only current change in jail policy.
On Jan. 26 at about 9:15 p.m., trustee Tylee Thompson was taking out the trash with a detention center sergeant, when he pinned the sergeant against the wall with a rolling trash bin and ran off into the night.
Thompson has still not been found by authorities.
According to Todd, Thompson was classified in the jail as a trustee in the state’s Substance Abuse Program. SAP provides drug counseling for some inmates who have been arrested on felony drug and/or alcohol charges, a Kentucky Department of Corrections website said.
Todd said Thompson was a class 1 inmate, meaning he was allowed to work and have more access than class 2 and class 3 inmates.
Asked whether changes would be made in the SAP trustee system, Todd said that is a state Department of Corrections policy and would be up to that department.
Todd said Thompson was soon to get probation, so the escape is puzzling.
“In 30 days, he would have been a free man anyway,” Todd said.
The Hendersonian has made two open records requests for information pertaining to the escape.
The Hendersonian on Jan. 30 requested “a copy of video of the incident when Tylee Thompson escaped from Henderson County Detention Center custody on 1/26/2024.”
This request was denied on Feb. 5 on grounds that the release could “directly affect the safety and security of the facility, staff and inmates. Release of the requested footage would threaten the security of jail operations,” a letter from the jail said.
The letter continued, “…This could potentially compromise the jail’s security by allowing people to study those daily operations. For example, this could lead to dangerous contraband being left there by the public or another possibility of escape if a car was parked there.”
In the second open records request, the Hendersonian on Feb. 8 asked the city of Henderson for “transcripts and/or recordings of all calls to 911 Henderson Dispatch (from the time period 01/26/2024 to 02/01/2024) regarding the escape of Tylee Thompson from the Henderson County Detention Center on 01/26/2024.”
The city of Henderson oversees the 911 Dispatch center.
This request was denied on Feb. 19.
According to a letter from Henderson City Attorney Dawn Kelsey, 911 Dispatch has been “advised by Trooper Lucas Shephard of the Kentucky State Police (KSP) that the investigation into this incident is ongoing. Trooper Shephard further advised that Sergeant Rob Austin of KSP has requested that release of information pertaining to this incident be denied at this time as premature release of information could jeopardize the ongoing investigation.”
According to Kentucky Revised Statutes 61.870 to 61.884, “public records exempted under this provision shall be open after enforcement action is completed or a decision is made to take no action,” said the letter from Kelsey.
The hunt for Thompson has been turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service.
