TribLive: “When Allegheny County voters approved a referendum in 2021 eliminating the use of solitary confinement at the county jail, they also barred use of leg shackles by corrections officers there.

As a result, jail staff cannot restrain the legs of incarcerated people being transported to the hospital for medical appointments or emergencies.

That has led to 14 attempted escapes in the last 16 months, according to the president of the union representing corrections officers.

The worst incident, said president Brian Englert, occurred in June when a man convicted of third-degree murder tried to run and was tackled in the emergency room by the two officers escorting him.

Although he was taken back into custody without further incident, Englert said that corrections officers and the public are at risk any time an incarcerated person is taken out of the jail and brought to a medical setting.

On Tuesday evening, Englert expects to present to County Council hundreds of signatures collected from voters across the county seeking to have that small portion of the referendum overturned.”

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