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The prison guard who alerted his fellow officers about a trap the inmates have set for them during a Delaware hostage standoff was found dead early Thursday, February 2nd after law enforcement officers smashed through the barricade made of foot lockers filled with water with a backhoe.
Official Reports
Union President Geoffrey Klopp said 47-year-old Sgt. Steven Floyd told several lieutenants who attempted to enter James T. Vaughn Correctional Center’s C-block to evacuate the building as they were rushing to his rescue. After the force teams regained control of the building by force, law enforcement officers were able to rescue the second hostage, a female counselor, and ended the 20-hour hostage standoff at the all-male, 2,500-prisoner correctional facility.
According to the authorities, the prison guard who died in the standoff called for help as several prisoners staged a fight on Wednesday and then turned on him, taking Sgt. Floyd prisoner. A short while afterward, however, the prisoners released several other hostages and demanded the law enforcement officers to turn back the water for washing and drinking. Instead, the inmates built barricades by filling foot lockers with water, says Geoffrey Klopp.
During the negotiations which were broadcast online for roughly an hour before the authorities cut off the feed, the mediator asked to speak to the prison guard to make sure he was in good condition. However, the inmates refused to put Sgt. Floyd on, saying the rescuers can talk to the hostage only when the prisoners get a chance to speak to the governor. The authors of the uprising wanted a formal apology for decades of oppression from Governor John Carney.
Circumstances of Death Still a Mystery
At the moment, investigators are not disclosing the circumstances surrounding Sgt. Floyd’s death. However, they said the prisoners used sharp instruments to seize the building. The prison guard was awarded last year for outstanding performance by the correctional facility’s warden. His colleagues described him as a role model for all prison security guards who would have done all that he could to help others.
The deceased’s family did not talk to the reporters about Sgt. Floyd’s passing and asked for their privacy to be respected in these times of hardship.
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