Nov 9, 2007 2:18 am US/Eastern
BSO Inmate Transport Policy To Be Reviewed
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
The Florida Department of Corrections requires two armed guards anytime an inmate is transported.
The Broward Sheriff's Office routinely transports as many as four or five inmates at a time, escorted by a lone armed guard, said Sheriff Al Lamberti at a Wednesday news conference.
Sheriff Al Lamberti said BSO will take a hard look at its transport policy in the wake of Wednesday's events.
About 300 to 400 inmates are transported in Broward each day, often to the courthouse and back, he said.
Rein was killed Wednesday morning while taking Mazza to court for the second day of his trial on charges of holding up a Coral Springs Bank of America branch.
Mazza, 40, was in a wheelchair because of injuries he suffered during his Feb. 28 arrest.
How Mazza got the better of Rein is unclear, even though police say they discovered Rein stopped and got out of the van on their wa to court. It's uknown why at this point.
The sheriff admitted he did not know whether Mazza was handcuffed in the van, and that no handcuffs were found when Mazza was arrested hours later at a Hollywood pawnshop.
Lamberti said a full review of his agency's inmate transportation procedures is already under way.
The sheriff said Mazza attacked Rein, then pulled over near a strip club at Powerline and Hammondville roads west of Pompano Beach, tossed him out of the transport van, then fled in the van.
BSO officials said specifics on the agency's inmate transportation rules were not immediately available Wednesday.
Jo Ellyn Rackleff, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections, told the newspaper that state rules require two guards, one armed, and that guns are kept far away from inmates.
At his Wednesday evening news conference, Lamberti admitted that budget constraints usually dictate the decision to have one deputy transport inmates.
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