Photo: Courtesy of the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.
DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Following a weekend inmate protest at the Bristol County Jail and House of Correction in Dartmouth, the County Sheriff says damages to the building were extensive, reaching far into six-figure territory.
Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux said upwards of $200,000 in damages were done to the interior of the building after a group of inmates protests being moved from one location to another. The activity caused the facility to go into lockdown on Friday.
Because the inmates were only taking out their frustrations on inanimate objects, Heroux said the incident should not be considered a riot.
"They destroyed a lot of property, made a lot of weapons— there was really no violence. There was destruction. But there was no violence," Heroux said.
According to Heroux, the quick actions of officers contributed to the fact that there were no injuries in this incident, though the same cannot be said for the property. Photos released by the Sheriff's Office show toiletries spread across the floor, smashed in glass, and electronics dissembled.
According to Heroux, because of the quick actions of a handful of officers no one was hurt in the incident— though the same can't be said for the property, as photos released by the Sheriff's Office show tolietries
Photo: Courtesy of the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.
Officials say they needed to make renovations to the housing unit and therefore needed to move inmates. The Sheriff's Office says it's working on making the facility more suicide-resistant.
"Part of this process is moving inmates to different housing units. Friday morning, some inmates in one of the housing units did not want to move, leading to the current incident," the Sheriff's Office said.
Photo: Courtesy of the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.
Heroux said officers spoke to the inmates through windows of the facility, asking them to return to their cells.
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Photo: Courtesy of the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.
WBZ's Tim Dunn (@ConsiderMeDunn) reports.
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