Internal investigation of employees under way at Oakdale prison

Officials at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville are investigating an incident involving prison employees and whether they broke any laws or violated organization policies.

Deputy Warden Greg Ort on Monday confirmed there is an internal investigation under way, although he didn't disclose details of the investigation. It remains unclear what the suspect employees are accused of doing, and how many are involved.

Ort said the investigation stems from an incident that happened about a week ago. The incident did not happen in the prison at 2700 Coral Ridge Ave. in Coralville, according to Ort.

“There are a number of items in question, so we really can't comment at this time,” he said. “The investigation still is underway. We hope to get it finished within a week or so.”

Investigators are looking into whether any crime occurred and whether the employees broke any Iowa Department of Corrections rules or policies, Ort said. The investigators have to conduct more interviews before reaching a conclusion, he said.

“We hope to resolve things quickly,” Ort said. “We would like to have it finished this week, but we have other factors to consider.”

Ort would not elaborate on those factors. He said situations like this are rare in Iowa's prison system.