Officer Russell was laid to rest yesterday and county commissioners are now speaking out about her death. They say there’s a need for more funding to better staff, judges, offices
and correctional facilities.
Russell died November 17th after state police say she was shot by an Altoona police officer who was trying to disarm an inmate who had taken Russell’s firearm from her and was holding
her hostage with it.
They say Russell was alone with several inmates as she supervised them during court proceedings.
Know state funding for security at the jail locations and if there are any changes we can make at the state level, that would help the counties because it is a significant cost to us.
So we are looking for kind of help with that and solutions that can can help, not just here in Blair County but across the state.
And she says the tragic death of Russell is something that Legislature should use to continue communications to reach a solution.
