Officials in New Orleans are calling on an inmate to turn himself in after a clerical error led him to be mistakenly released from the same prison where 10 men escaped earlier this year.
Khalil Bryan was mistakenly released from the Orleans Parish Justice Center by the sheriff’s office, an apologetic New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at a Friday news conference.
Also at the Friday news conference, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson made “a sincere apology to the people of New Orleans” and took “full responsibility” for Bryan’s mistaken release.
Bryan was released after a clerical error caused officials to confuse him with another inmate with a similar last name, Hutson explained.
“While our systems are designed to catch these discrepancies, human error led to a breakdown in the verification process,” Hutson said.
Officials in the area have launched an investigation and are actively searching for Bryan. Hutson said those who were on duty during Bryan’s release will be called in for questioning as this was a human error.
Bryan is serving time for charges including possession of stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer, Kirkpatrick said, noting the inmate’s “violent criminal history.”
Hutson later added that he was charged with home invasion, aggravated assault and domestic abuse.
Bryan, 30, is a 6-foot-4-inch Black man with brown eyes and black hair, according to a wanted flier released by the sheriff’s office.
Bryan’s accidental release comes just months after 10 inmates escaped from the same prison in the middle of the night through a hole in the wall behind a cell toilet.
It took more than a month for New Orleans officials to round up nine of the men, with one more remaining at large.
Kirkpatrick said it is possible Bryan will face charges similar to the recaptured escapees, and that he has been put on notice that he is a fugitive, but charges will ultimately be up to the district attorney’s office.
On Friday, she called on Bryan to turn himself in.
“This should not have happened. It was a failure of internal processes, and the public has every right to expect better,” Hutson said.
She later added that “this is not anything that we want for our community.”
“We want our community to know that we will get this right. We will get him back into custody, and we will get this right, and there will be accountability for these actions,” Hutson said.
