Hostage situation raises questions about staffing

The hostage situation at Delaware's largest prison is raising all kinds of questions.

READ MORE: Fallen corrections officer "saved lives" in Delaware prison standoff

The correctional officer's union in Delaware is blaming the state's prior governor. The union claims it brought up its concerns many times over the past decade with no response. Some of those concerns are undertrained and overworked officers.

The union president says there have been systemic problems over the past decade. According to the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, there are 1,700 officers statewide right now and they are short around 90. The department says the prison was fully staffed during the time the inmates took control yesterday morning.

"We at the COAD Family believe Sergeant Floyd's death is due directly to staffing issues. I want to be clear Sergeant Floyd did not have to die yesterday," said Geoff Klopp with the Correctional Officer Association.

FOX 29 reached out to current Delaware Gov. John Carney's office for their response but they did not comment. We also tried to reach former Gov. Jack Markell; however, we have not been able to speak with him.

Sergeant Steven Floyd is being credited tonight for saving the lives of fellow officers warning them to get out of the building before he was held captive. So far, the medical examiner has not announced his official cause of death.