Ambulance waited 19 minutes at Nashville prison gate due to code error

Corrion Partee, 24, died while in custody at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville after a delay in emergency medical access.

The family of the late inmate is requesting an investigation into the events surrounding his death.

They state that prison employees took nearly 20 minutes to secure the necessary clearance for an ambulance to enter the facility.

Cortney Partee, the deceased man's older brother, cited a 19-minute gap in communication during the 911 call.

He stated, “It took them 19 minutes to figure out a code. That’s something you’re already supposed to know.”

Audio from the emergency call reveals that an employee initially did not know the prison's address.

The employee asked the dispatcher for the address of Riverbend and mentioned it was the first time they had made such a call.

The call was then transferred to a voicemail system, prompting a 911 operator to ask, “What?” before hanging up.

The dispatcher called back and was placed on hold for a full minute before a shift commander answered.

A different employee later reported that the inmate had no pulse.

Security protocol requires a specific code for ambulance entry to the prison grounds.

No employee on duty knew the correct entry code when the 911 operator requested it for verification purposes standard for prison entries. An employee first suggested “Code 4” for a medical emergency, but the operator clarified that they needed the specific gate entry code, not the medical classification. The same delay pattern occurred two weeks prior during the execution attempt of Christa Pike, when an ambulance took 25 minutes to arrive at the prison. Corry Partee, Corrion’s father, said, “That shows you these people do not care about anyone. Anyone.” He added that the family has not received answers from the warden or the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Rochelle Phillips, Corrion’s aunt, said, “Everybody failed my nephew. Whether he did wrong. Whether he did right. He still was a human.” Partee was serving a nine-year sentence for robbery. His funeral was held on Saturday. The family said they learned of the death from a fellow inmate rather than the state, and discovered the details of the 911 delay through a social media post. Cortney Partee said, “He never got his second chance, and they’re gonna try to brush it on.. send it on down the drain like nothing happened.. this is hurting my whole family.” The Tennessee Department of Corrections has not responded to questions about the incident or corrective actions.