By Kelsey Durham
The recent escape by a patient from the Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in Queens Village has surrounding residents calling for a full review of the incident as well as an in-depth look at improvements they believe can be made to the facility’s security procedures.
Eastern Queens United, a coalition of 14 civic associations across the area, has devised a seven-point plan as a result of the security breech that allowed Raymond Morillo, a 33-year-old convicted killer, to walk freely out of the hospital Jan. 28 after switching clothing with a visitor.
Morillo served nearly 15 years in prison for a May 1998 shooting in Queens that left one man dead and he was admitted to Creedmoor after being released in December 2013.
He was captured by authorities in Tennessee a few days later and was returned to the hospital, but homeowners who live nearby fear that the escape revealed major holes in Creedmoor’s security.
“It’s not a very common occurrence, but when it happened we were very concerned that someone could just walk right out the front door,” said Frank Toner, president of the Rocky Hill Civic Association, which surrounds about half of the property on which Creedmoor is located. “These patients are very ill, perhaps criminally insane, and it seems that there’s a lack of security there. Somebody got sloppy, I guess.”
Toner’s civic group, along with the 13 others, is asking for a full investigation of the escape at the state-run facility and asks that a comprehensive security plan be adopted in order to prevent similar incidents in the future. The seven-point plan also calls on the state Office of Mental Health to provide more funding that will support the proper level of security.
Calls made to Creedmoor about security measures currently being used were not returned.
Morillo was the second patient to escape from Creedmoor in less than a year, and Toner said the community frequently witnesses incidents on the hospital’s grounds that require a police response. But an officer from the 105th Precinct, which serves the Creedmoor property, said the hospital has its own security and police are rarely called to the psychiatric center.
Instead, police said any incidents at Creedmoor to which the NYPD responds usually occur at the other buildings on the property that do not have their own security to handle minor incidents.
Toner said civic groups have been in contact with Creedmoor in the past about their request for increased security and said the hospital has made minor changes, such as increasing lights outside the building at night, but the power to add more security guards it out of the hospital’s hands.
“They’ve made some adjustments, but as far as more security, that’s a budget item that only Albany has control over,” Toner said. “They need more guards. It’s a huge place, and yet if you go into Waldbaum’s or Target, they have more security guards in one store than in this whole facility.”
Eastern Queens United is also asking Creedmoor to keep in better contact with homeowners in the area, especially if serious incidents such as the recent break occur in the future. The plan calls for “disclosure and transparency as to the type of individuals being housed at Creedmoor” as well as “a community notification protocol to provide immediate alerts of dangerous situations.”
When Morillo escaped last month, Toner said he did not think the hospital made an urgent effort to notify the public about what happened or the severity of it. He said the civic groups see communication as one of the most important aspects of creating a successful security plan and making sure surrounding residents can remain safe during a crisis.
“I personally missed the news that morning and only found out someone had escaped when a reporter called me and asked me to talk about it and I had no idea,” said Toner, who lives just a few blocks from the hospital. “I made some calls and got my own details, but all I really knew to tell people was that a guy who murdered someone just escaped from Creedmoor. It was scary and we wanted more information.”
Toner said his group meets with the Creedmoor administration every quarter to address any concerns of the public and has also had a joint meeting with state officials about the budget issues that prevent stronger security, but he said the community wants more and the first step to solving the problem is to investigate.
“We don’t think the CEO or anyone at the hospital is stonewalling us,” he said. “They’re doing their best, but I guess our issue is really with the state to beef up the security there. They have too small a force and that’s why incidents happen.”
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
