May 31—LIMA — The head of Ohio's largest state employees union said too little staff and too much mandatory overtime contributed to two inmates escaping from Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution last week.

"It's a perfect storm. You can't be 70 officers short and mandate entire shifts to work 16 hours a day over and over in a prison," Chris Mabe, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, said in a press release. "It's not safe for staff or inmates. It has consequences. And in this instance, serious consequences. We've said it before, and we'll keep saying it. Something's got to give."

An Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction representative didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Last week, AOCI acknowledged two men escaped the prison sometime Monday or Tuesday after concealing themselves in a dumpster that was taken off the property. Kentucky officials apprehended escaped inmate James Lee on Wednesday. Henderson, Ky., police announced Sunday that Bradley Gillespie, who was serving a sentence for two murders in Paulding County, was found dead floating in the Ohio River.

The preliminary autopsy, released Wednesday, showed Gillespie drowned. Toxicology results won't be available for several weeks, according to the Henderson County coroner's office.

Five people have been placed on paid leave during an investigation, including Major Carl Bendross and corrections officers Derrick Coil, Tre'mon Glenn-Crawford, Lain Patterson and Taylor Robey. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is leading the criminal investigation, with an internal investigation by ODRC.

Mabe, who worked for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as a correction officer and sergeant for more than 25 years, suggested the prison reduce the number of inmate programs, curb movement of inmates and reconfigure visitations to require less staffing.

"We can't continue to operate as if it's business as usual," Mabe said.

According to the OCSEA, AOCI is 70 corrections officers short of what it needs. The union, which represents 27,000 state employees, including nearly 8,000 working for the ODRC, also claims there are staff mandates to work back-to-back overtime. It claimed posts are routinely closed inside the prison, putting more pressure on staff to oversee the 44-acre prison.

The prison should have 470 staff, according to the ODRC's web page about the prison.

Mabe also criticized the ODRC for investing in technology instead of employees, calling for a higher wage resembling the increases police officers have gained over the years to make corrections jobs more attractive.

"They need to stop supplanting people with technology," Mabe said. "First, technology like body cams is not going to stop inmates from escaping. It's not going to keep officers from being tired. It's not going to keep them safe. They're not effective. Let's spend our resources on what is effective: People."

Mabe also expressed his concern that statewide, prisons were 2,000 officers short, numbers reminiscent of the deadly Lucasville riot at Southern Correctional Facility that killed a correction officer and nine inmates in 1993.

Last week's escape came nearly nine years after another group of inmates escaped the facility. In September 2014, T.J. Lane, Clifford Opperud and Lindsey Bruce escaped the prison but were recaptured after a six-hour search. Lane was serving three life sentences after killing three in a 2012 school shooting in Chardon.

Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.