SHORTLY AFTER an inmate attacked a Thurston County corrections officer for 20 minutes in a jammed courthouse elevator in April, Council 2 sprang into action to provide help and advice.

Members rallied to assist the victim of the attack, Teresa Benefield, who was hospitalized as a result of the incident. They also insisted that county authorities take immediate steps to beef up inadequate security arrangements at the courthouse.

In the wake of the attack, union members met in an emergency session to discuss improvements they have demanded for years be made to the system. They drew up a list of requirements that they passed on to county administrators.

Local 618 president Chris Scanlon held a press conference to discuss the issue. He pointed out the attack was an unfortunate example of a point the union had been making for years — that court security arrangements, cut back under budgetary pressures, need to be improved.

Benefield, who also spoke to the media, said, “We’ve been talking about this for years and years and years. It’s the same old broken record.”

The union stepped in and provided support on several fronts.

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee sent a letter to Benefield offering the International’s support. Scanlon later called McEntee to thank him for his help.

Council 2 President/Executive Director Chris Dugovich traveled to Olympia to meet with corrections staff and to provide his assistance and advice. “Without Chris’ support we would not have been able to have had an urgent union meeting and I believe his participation helped in our relationship with county administrators,” Scanlon says.

Staff Representative Brock Logan devoted considerable additional time to provide help where it was needed.

And Mike Smith, Council 2 staff representative in Spokane, who specializes in corrections issues, flew to Olympia to provide advice and assistance to Local 618.

“They all assisted us in a concerted effort like nothing I have ever seen before,” Scanlon adds. “They were all highly supportive.”

The combined effort not only reflected the union’s support for members, it also led to action to address the ongoing problems the attack had highlighted.
As a result, Thurston County commissioners approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in court security improvements, some of which the union had been suggesting for several years.

In addition, the commissioners, who had consulted only with corrections administration in the past, moved to involve the union staff and all county administrators in future decisions involving all aspects of jail procedures, including staffing analysis.

Scanlon says the union wants to work closely with administrators on improving the jail. He believes the system allows inmates with serious offenses to be placed in medium or minimum security because the most secure unit does not contain enough beds.

The inmate, identified as Carl Vance, 62, attacked Benefield while she was escorting him to a court hearing on the afternoon of March 31. Vance, classified a maximum security prisoner, hit the emergency button on the elevator with his bound hands, causing it to stop between floors. He lunged at Benefield, trying to get her gun away from her. As they fell, Vance pinned her to the floor and grabbed for the gun, secured in its holster.

Benefield screamed and fought for 20 minutes, shifting her weight to keep the firearm pinned beneath her and prevent Vance from reaching it. She hit and kicked him, inflicting considerable bodily harm on him.

Vance eventually pulled the gun free and stood up in the elevator. “I thought I’d be dead,” Benefield told The Olympian.

At that time officers were able to pry open the elevator door. They tackled Vance and seized the gun, moments before what Benefield thought would be certain death. “They literally dragged me out of there and that was the greatest feeling in the world,” she told The Olympian.