Bristol County House of Corrections disturbance 'seconds away' from hostage situation, sheriff says
DARTMOUTH – A standoff between prison guards and inmates at the Bristol County House of Corrections would have been much worse if not for the quick actions of staff at the facility, Sheriff Paul Heroux said on Monday.
Heroux held a press conference to provide an update on the Friday lockdown. During the incident, inmates caused significant damage to a housing unit in a protest over being moved.
Heroux said the incident should not be classified as a riot, because the inmates did not use violence.
"There was really no violence. There was destruction. But there was no violence," Heroux said.
The Bristol County Sheriff said staff members quickly deactivated and locked a control panel, which prevented the inmates from getting into the courtyard.
Heroux said if the inmates had been able to get to the courtyard, they would have been able to access the roof.
"Shutting down and backing out kept us from having a true riot," Heroux said.
"The COs quickly backed out, locked the door. They were seconds away from being locked in there with the inmates, which would have been a hostage situation," he added.
More than 100 security staff members responded to help get the scene under control.
During Monday's press conference, Heroux On showed 49 photos of the roughly $200,000 worth of damage inside two housing units. The images show soap all over the floor, metal beds disassembled, mattresses upended, and tv's and cameras smashed. Heroux also showed pictures of weapons made by some of the inmates.
Heroux said there were a total of 20 "ringleaders" who led the standoff. They allegedly began planning their actions the night before.
Those inmates were taken to other county jails throughout the state.
The incident was made possible by the layout of the facility, Heroux said. The sheriff describes it as similar to a college dorm where inmates can move freely within several locked units. Roughly 50 percent of the cells do not have toilets or locks.
Heroux has plans to install toilets and locks in 11 housing units, at a cost of about $500,000 per unit. He hopes the state will provide funding to make the project move faster.
"The silver lining to this is now we've got the state's attention because we were going to put toilets in cells and locks on doors in these two housing units to prevent something like this from going on and now the state knows exactly why we have to be able to lock doors," Heroux said.
