A Texas corrections officer has been arrested after allegedly waiting several hours to seek medical help for an inmate who was fatally stabbed inside a maximum-security prison.
Ty Wilkerson, 26, of Riverside, was charged with violating the civil rights of a person in custody following the death of Jarrod Tolbert, 45, at the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, located about 70 miles northwest of Houston.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by KTRE, Wilkerson was on duty when he was informed at 6:02 a.m. on July 21 that an inmate had been stabbed during an altercation. Despite the report, he allegedly failed to provide medical aid or alert emergency personnel.
Tolbert was later found unresponsive in his cell at 9:44 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 11:09 p.m. that night, according to the custodial death report.
“The defendant’s failure to render aid and notify authorities contributed to the death of the victim inmate,” the affidavit states.
Wilkerson was booked into the Polk County Jail last Monday and released later that day.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has yet to issue a public statement regarding the incident.
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