By KEN CARPENTER
Great Bend Post
Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir is criticizing Kansas Governor Laura Kelly for failing to adequately respond to security and operational issues at Larned State Hospital. Bellendir was a guest Thursday on 1590 KVGB and 95.5 FM's County Edition.
Bellendir cited the escape from the facility of 43-year-old Isaac Watts on Monday night. Watts was being held at the hospital for a mental evaluation after being charged with kidnapping and attempted second-degree murder in Grant County. He was apprehended by Garden City Police the next day. In June, 42-year-old John Freeman Colt escaped from the hospital's Sexual Predator Treatment Program and remained at large until his capture in Utah in September.
Bellendir was joined by 58 other county sheriffs in Kansas last October in sending a letter to Kelly to express their concern about the hospital's management.
"The Governor didn’t even bother to send us a response,” Bellendir reported. “The gist of that letter was that something needs to change over there drastically. We’re not talking about forced escapes and we’re not talking about overpowering people. These guys are just walking out of the facility. There needs to be, in my opinion, a change of leadership over there.”
Safety is not the only issue Bellendir is concerned about. He said that he knew of nine people in western Kansas this week who are on a waiting list to be admitted.
"We can’t get people into the state hospital who are in mental crisis. When you’ve got eight or nine people waiting to get in, the state needs to step up here. This is a disservice to those people as well.”
Kelly announced on Tuesday that she is directing the state agency in charge of Larned State Hospital to hire an independent firm to conduct a review of the facility's operations. Bellendir is not pleased with that approach. He said that process could take at least a year to complete and change is needed before then.
Listen below to the entire interview with Bellendir from Jan. 6, 2022.