The Department of Public Safety today said an escape attempt at Oahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi “was thwarted due to the alertness and quick reaction by adult correction officers in the tower and on the ground.”

According to a press release, “At about 9:40 a.m yesterday, inmate Chad Teisina attempted to escape by scaling a fence in the recreation yard. The fence is 16 feet tall and has razor wire at the top. “

The release continues: “An Adult Corrections Officer manning one of the towers saw Teisina running across the rec yard towards the fence and immediately notified ACOs on the ground. The officers inside the rec yard called for backup while running after Teisina. ACOs surrounded the fence from both sides before Teisina even made it to the top. He was brought down off the fence and handcuffed. Sheriffs were notified and are investigating.”

Ouch! The Oahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi.

Chad Blair/Civil Beat

Public Safety says there were 84 inmates in the large recreation yard at the time of the attempted escape.  

“Teisina tried to escape in broad daylight,” Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said in a statement. “We don’t know why they do impulsive things like this but this is the type of person our corrections officers deal with every day and I commend our staff for a job well done in keeping the safety and security of our facilities.”

Teisina is reported to have sustained “puncture wounds “to his body from the razor wire and was transported to a hospital for treatment yesterday morning.  He was returned back to OCCC yesterday afternoon.

Teisina will now face “in-house disciplinary action as well as criminal action for the attempted escape.”

OCCC has suffered a number of escape attempts in recent years, even though we live on a crowded island.