Delnor Hospital Nurse Held Hostage, Raped, And Tortured After Inmate Took Corrections Officer’s Gun
Attornies Sean Murray and Lindsay Scheidt of Taxman, Pollock, Murray, & Bekkerman talk to the media (Source: Taxman, Pollock, Murray, & Bekkerman, LLC)
Nurse Held Hostage, Raped, At Delnor Hospital
Geneva, IL – During a hostage situation at Delnor Hospital on May 13, a nurse was tortured and raped at gunpoint by an escaped inmate, Tywon Salters.
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the nurse, and a second nurse, against Kane County and APEX3 Security stating that the defendants “failed to properly monitor and secure the inmate,” according to NBC Chicago. That’s an understatement.
The incident began on May 8 when Salters was transported to Delnor Hospital by ambulance after he had eaten part of his plastic, jail-issued sandal. He underwent surgery to remove the plastic from his stomach, and was recovering in the hospital while waiting for his next court appearance on May 17 on a possession of a stolen motor vehicle charge.
In the lawsuit, it states that Salters was left unshackled after going to the restroom because he told a Kane County Sheriff’s deputy that he may need to go back to the restroom. Reportedly, that is when Salters was able to ‘gain control’ of the deputy’s gun, and begin his attempted escape.
The lawsuit states, “Following the taking of his gun, the sheriff ran from the room, down the hall, into another patient’s room and hid. The sheriff then took no action to attempt to regain control of his gun or protect hospital employees walking the floor.”
After he grabbed the deputy’s gun, Salters, who was reported to be ‘naked,’ entered a nursing office and took an unidentified nurse hostage. The lawsuit states that Salters “forced her to remove her clothes, threatened her, physically abused her, verbally abused her.”
When a second nurse entered the office, Salters let the first nurse leave and took the second nurse hostage. He eventually moved the second nurse to a decontamination room where they remained for more than three hours. The lawsuit states that during that time Salters “repeatedly beat her, forced her to remove her clothes, violently raped her, threatened her life, verbally abused her and held her at gunpoint.”
It was initially reported that the nurses who were taken hostage were not injured.
During the incident, one nurse convinced Salters to let her make a phone call and she used the call to alert other employees to escape. She also led Salters through an area of the hospital that “she knew would be evacuated and contain no hospital staff,” according to her attorneys, who also said that the “quick thinking by this nurse likely saved other hospital staff from being harmed.”
During the incident, negotiations were ongoing but were ultimately unsuccessful. A SWAT team was called in, and entered the area where Salters held the hostage. Shots were fired by both Salters and officers. Salters was killed, and one officer was struck in his vest. He was not injured.
Officials have not released much information about the incident. The state’s attorney’s office declined to comment due to the pending lawsuit. The SWAT officer and the deputy who was responsible for guarding Walters have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
Kane County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Pat Gengler said, “The officer had his weapon taken and that weapon was used (to hold someone) hostage. To expect that person to come back to work is completely unrealistic.”
The KCSO is conducting a review of its policies and procedures involving the transport of inmates, and how they are guarded when they’re outside of jail.
