Two correctional officers assigned to a maximum-security inmate who escaped from a Laurel hospital last month have been fired after an investigation showed departmental policies and procedures were not followed, state officials said yesterday.

The officers, who were not identified, were assigned to guard Kelvin D. Poke, who on Jan. 2 overpowered the officers and two others, stole two guns and fled in a vehicle he carjacked outside Laurel Regional Hospital. He was killed seven hours later in a shootout with police in a Prince George's County cemetery.

After the incident, officials said that Poke was being supervised by only one correctional officer after his partner took a break and left him alone -- a violation of agency policy that requires two officers to be with inmates at all times. Poke was also not wearing handcuffs at the time of the escape.

Rick Binetti, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, said yesterday that he could not discuss the violations or the results of an inquiry into the incident, noting that the officers have the option to appeal the decision.

Poke, 45, was the second inmate to escape from Laurel Regional Hospital in as many months, and it came two years after a correctional officer in Hagerstown was killed by an inmate who snatched his gun.

Officials say the two correctional officers assigned to inmates taken to hospitals must stay with them at all times -- one, who is unarmed, stays close to the prisoner, and another, who is armed, watches the inmate. The arrangement is designed to keep the weapon out of reach of the inmate.

Poke's escape set off of a debate about whether correctional officers should be armed when they transport inmates to local hospitals for treatment, and state officials said they would review policies.

Binetti said yesterday that the agency was not considering any immediate changes to its inmate supervision policy but wants to work with the unions.

"In this particular case, the department feels it wasn't necessarily those policies that facilitated the escape," he said. "It was the fact that two officers disregarded those policies that had been in place for a long time and had been very effective for a long time."

No agreement has been reached with Dimensions Healthcare System, which oversees Laurel Regional Hospital. Dimensions Healthcare said last month it would no longer admit inmates for nonemergency visits. Poke's escape was the second at that facility since November.

Poke, a prisoner serving a life sentence at Jessup Correctional Institution, went to the hospital Dec. 31 complaining of chest pains. One of the correctional officers took a break, and Poke's handcuffs were removed so he could use the bathroom. He overpowered the officers, shot off his shackles, and briefly took a security guard hostage as he made his way out of the hospital.

Once outside, Poke carjacked a Toyota Camry -- shooting the driver -- and fled into Washington. Police said the Camry broke down and he stole a pickup truck. Along the way, Poke picked up a woman, who was a stranger to him, and told police that they planned on drinking and using drugs together.

Poke's escape ended when he was fatally shot in a cemetery outside Washington after he fired on officers, police said.

Officers do not carry guns inside prisons, and some union officials say that guards should not carry weapons in unsecured facilities such as hospitals. But others said weapons are necessary to protect correctional officers from inmate attacks and that the state should explore alternatives to local community hospitals for inmate treatment.

Patrick Moran, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 92, a union that represents correctional officers, said he hopes agency leaders continue to explore possible changes.

"This calls for a thorough examination of the way medical services are delivered to the inmates, to ensure the safety of the officers and the public as a whole," Moran said.

justin.fenton@baltsun.com