Repairs to prison after escape in July | News, Sports, Jobs

OBSERVER file photo: A recent prison break was the topic of discussion at the county Public Safety Committee meeting.

MAYVILLE – Last month, an inmate attempted to escape by jumping from the roof of the Chautauqua County Jail, but was quickly caught.

Since then, improvements have been made to the prison and the State Commission on Corrections is inspecting the prison to ensure that something like this does not happen again.

Last week, the Legislature's Public Safety Committee met in closed session with Sheriff Jim Quattrone, who cited Section 105 of the New York State Open Meetings Law, which allows closed sessions for matters that, if disclosed, would endanger public safety.

On Monday, Sheriff Jim Quattrone confirmed that the outbreak was one of the topics discussed.

He said he was limited in what he could say, other than to say that a weak point had been addressed.

“In one place the barbed wire was not anchored properly. Our maintenance staff made sure that this is no longer a problem.” he said.

According to the Sheriff's Office, at 12:30 p.m. on July 11, Eric Ryals, an inmate at the county jail, gained access to the roof of the jail and fled from correctional officers who were actively pursuing him and demanding that he surrender.

Ryals allegedly ignored officers' orders and jumped from the roof of the jail. He exited the facility when he landed on the grass on the Elm Street side of the facility. Ryals was quickly taken into custody as a security perimeter had been set up around the jail. Ryals was transported to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of injuries sustained during his escape.

Quattrone also praised his staff for arresting the escaped prisoner just minutes after he jumped from the roof. “Our COs (correctional officers) did a great job keeping the inmate under control and informing the rest of the staff,” he said.

Quattrone also said the state's corrections director will be coming to tour the prison sometime this week. He said the visit was simply part of her effort to visit every prison in the state and had nothing to do with the outbreak.

However, he said the commission has all the documentation related to last month's escape and will eventually contact the county again. “We assume that the case will be closed with the measures we have taken,” he said.