Video of hostage situation at Buckeye prison released

BUCKEYE, Ariz. (FOX 10) -- The Arizona Department of Corrections has released video from a hostage situation between an inmate and an employee in a prison library.

The incident happened at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis in Buckeye in December 2018. According to ADC officials, inmate Timothy Monk took a male library employee hostage with a prison-made blade and demanded to leave the prison.

Tactical crews fired a diversionary device into the library and used non-lethal force to take Monk into custody.

"Protecting the safety and welfare of our employees is paramount," said ADC Director Charles L. Ryan. "We are grateful this was resolved safely and quickly. Our team acted with great professionalism to bring about the best possible outcome, ensuring that our employee was unharmed."

Per the ADC, "Monk is currently serving 97 years in prison. He came to ADC in 1988 when he was sentenced out of Maricopa County for armed robbery, sexual assault and kidnapping. He was later convicted out of Pima County in 2006 for aggravated assault, kidnapping, promoting prison contraband and sexual assault while incarcerated at the Tucson prison complex."

The librarian, Allen Hartzell, escaped the situation without being hurt. On January 31, he was awarded the department's Medal of Valor for his actions.

"It took great courage by Mr. hartzell to sit there, knowing he was being threatened by a very dangerous inmate," said Ryan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.