Former prison official remembers 1995 MCI-Shirley riot

A former leader at MCI-Shirley says that the riot that happened on Monday at Souza-Baranowski  is just something that happens behind prison walls.

“I don't think there's any way anybody in the department of correction at any institution can guarantee something like that is not going to happen. Those things happen in prison. That's what happens behind the walls,” said Peter Maloney.

Peter Maloney was the former deputy superintendent of MCI-Shirley in the late 90's. He found himself in the middle of a riot involving over 350 inmates in 1995.

The riot began in the prison yard, and officers stayed locked inside utility closets for their own safety.

He says the threat of inmates fighting back is always real.

In the surveillance video of 1995 riot, prisoners at the medium-security facility that is adjacent to Souza-Baranowski caused similar chaos to Monday’s riot, along with $2 million in damage.

Maloney, a trained negotiator, was key in ending the riot; he walked into the yard without any protective gear and talked with the prison gang leaders. He said he had to do it because prisoners couldn't hear him because of the layout of the yard at the time. However, he would not advocate correction officers to do the same today.

During this past Monday’s riots, video shows inmates beating down doors and destroying equipment to make homemade weapons to try to gain control.

Maloney says prisoners have a lot of time on their hands to think about ways to craft weapons, from a bar of soap and a sock to a toothbrush that they sharpen.

Maloney is crediting the corrections officers involved in Monday’s riot with preventing injuries by closing off areas and containing it to one area. He said this shows a lot of foresight on the part of the guards who were on duty.

Souza-Baranowski remains on lockdown as a result of the riot Wednesday night.

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