GATESVILLE, Texas — Robert Bauer is a Field Lieutenant at the Alfred Hughes unit in Gatesville. He normally works with inmates in the field growing the food they serve in the prison.
"The inmates grow all of the crops here in the unit," Bauer told 25 News.
"Everything we grow goes straight back into the kitchen."
On June 15, he had an encounter he'd only trained for.
"Around 2:00 in the afternoon, an inmate came over the rec yard fence and took off running," Lt. Bauer said.
"I told him to get down and he wouldn't stop. I started chasing him and I chased him up to the fence line. When I caught up to him, he'd already climbed the fence and gotten up to the top razor wire at which point I'd gotten a hold of him and pulled him back down."
Lt. Bauer recently received a valor award from TDCJ for his actions that day. He said he was surprised by the recognition but very honored because he was just doing his job.
"I think that any one of our officers here if they had been in the same situation would have done the same thing," he said.
"I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."
"He definitely went above and beyond that day," said TDCJ Director of Communication, Amanda Hernandez.
"He did exactly what he was trained to do and helped fulfill our mission of public safety. He helped keep the inmates safe and keep the community safe with his actions."
There were several other corrections officers who recently received valor awards as well, including a few from the Huntsville unit who were recognized for their bravery during a fire at the prison earlier this year.
That fire happened early in the morning on August 25 and was mostly in the attic and third floor of the administration building. TDCJ corrections officers evacuated more than 600 inmates throughout the day and there were no reported injuries or fatalies.
