Fremont County Sheriff’s Deputy Advises Against Release of Second Jail Break Report

FREMONT COUNTY — “When I got the notification on Friday, I was in bad physical condition,” said Fremont County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Irvine.

That’s what Fremont County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Irvine told me in June during our second interview in just over a year to learn the details of another inmate’s escape from his prison.

The last one was caught on prison surveillance video on June 7 of this year, when Irvine says Kegan Van Vliet ran out of an inmate holding cell. Less than 12 hours later, investigators caught the 45-year-old near I-25 and Woodmen Road in Colorado Springs.

Dianne Derby: How did that happen?

Deputy Sheriff Irvine: Based on the initial investigation that we conducted at the facility, and I admit it’s an active investigation so I can’t go into detail, one of the first issues that we discovered was a software and hardware issue with the door controllers at the facility.

Dianne Derby: What is the contingency plan for software failure?

Deputy Sheriff Irvine: Manual operation of locks.

Dianne Derby: Have you ever had this problem?

Deputy Sheriff Irvine: No, as far as I know, but again, I didn’t return to the office until 2019.

Irvine told me he could not release more information until the investigation was complete. That was completed about six weeks later, but I quickly learned that the public would not be learning the details anytime soon, such as why an inmate already in the jail was allowed into the intake area, whether any deputies were nearby at the time and which, if any, staff members were disciplined or removed from their duties. In an email to me, the deputy sheriff said, “The report is complete. However, after consulting with the District Attorney’s Office, we have been advised not to release it because it is pending in a criminal case. The Fremont County District Attorney agrees.” The deputy sheriff continued, saying that release would be “contrary to the public interest.” The response cited Colorado law that allows the office to withhold documents related to intelligence or security procedures.

In May 2023, two other inmates were captured hours after Irvine claimed they escaped from the prison while taking out trash.

How did two inmates escape from the Fremont County Detention Center?

At the time, they were considered to be what were called “confidants,” more trusted prisoners in the prison. I asked what was being done to prevent this from happening again.

“I’m doing an audit right now of the safety issues at our facility,” Irvine said. “We’re looking at the trust program itself, who’s being selected, who’s being elected, what they’re being tasked with based on their fees.”

But it happened again. So I asked the same thing again.

Deputy Sheriff Irvine: One of the measures that we have taken is that any time there is an inmate on the booking floor, there will be a staff member on the booking floor. Additionally, we do not trust the automatic locking mechanisms of the Sallyport doors that enter the facility as part of the booking. So those doors will be manually locked and unlocked by a staff member.

Dianne Derby: How do you deal with morale in your department? Is that your responsibility?

Deputy Sheriff Irvine: I believe it’s every single one of us. It’s our responsibility to deal with this and solve this problem.

The company that supplies the software used at the jail is Johnson Controls. Earlier this summer, a spokesperson told me they were looking into the matter and would offer support to the sheriff’s office. Today, a spokesperson told me they were not involved in the investigation but would not elaborate. We will continue to follow this story and will share the results of the investigation as they become public.

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