Guards at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield quelled what the Department of Corrections called an “attempted unit takeover” at Vermont’s largest prison on Tuesday.
Corrections Commissioner Mike Touchette said in a press release that the “disturbance” began at 10:15 a.m. when an inmate attacked the guard on duty with a blunt weapon. Two other inmates simultaneously attacked another inmate.
“Almost immediately, other officers responded to the incident, the first of whom deflected an attempted assault by using pepper spray to disable his attacker, before continuing on to the other three inmates who had instigated the assaults, and again using pepper spray to subdue the attackers,” the press release said.
Prison staff then locked other inmates in their cells, while “securing” those involved in the assault. The assaulted officer sustained minor injuries.
About 30 minutes later, two other inmates in the unit barricaded themselves in a cell. Special response teams from Southern State and Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland responded.
After an unsuccessful effort to speak with the inmates, guards “deployed a handheld diversionary device into the cell to safely resolve the situation.” Often called “flashbangs,” handheld diversionary devices are non-lethal explosives used to gain a tactical advantage in potentially violent situations.
Touchette said the “response today from all officers involved was swift and professional, bringing a dangerous and escalating situation quickly under control.”
Vermont State Police are investigating the incident.
