New photos show substantial damage left behind at Massachusetts jail after inmate standoff

DARTMOUTH, Mass. — Officials on Monday released dozens of photos that show the substantial damage that was left behind at a Massachusetts jail after a chaotic disturbance among inmates broke out last week.

A six-hour standoff occurred Friday at the Bristol County House of Corrections when inmates refused to leave their housing units to be moved into new units while the Dartmouth facility underwent renovations to make it more suicide resistant, according to Sheriff Paul Heroux.

Photos shared by Heroux’s office showed phones torn off the wall, shattered windows, toppled chairs, broken fans, toilet paper rolls strewn about, torn up blankets, destroyed toilets, broken beds, trash-covered floors, damaged door frames, discarded fire extinguishers, documents thrown everywhere, bent pieces of metal, towels hanging from the ceiling, smashed electronics, holes in the wall, makeshift weapons, and more.

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Heroux noted that as many as 75-80 inmates became agitated during the move and caused up to $200,000 in damage.

The uprising started around 9:40 a.m. after some inmates in two housing units did not want to leave their areas during the process. By 11:30 a.m., the inmates had a list of demands, according to Heroux.

Heroux said he responded in writing to a list of demands from inmates. Crews on the scene then made the decision to enter the housing units after Heroux said inmates tore up the piece of paper with his response on it.

“The COs shutting things down, backing out, and condoning off that housing unit, that kept us from having a true riot,” Heroux explained. “Other than that it was just damage.”

No staff or inmates were taken hostage at any point but the disturbance led to a trail of destruction. As a result, nearly 20 inmates who were deemed “ringleaders” were removed from the prison and taken to other county jails throughout the state.

There are about 600 total inmates inside the minimum security prison.

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