SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — A protest Friday outside the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield led to a disturbance by inmates inside the state’s largest prison that took a special response team to quell and put the facility on full lockdown, according to the state Department of Corrections.
There were no injuries to inmates or corrections staff, and damage at the 370-bed facility was “minimal,” according to a news release headlined, “Vermont Department of Corrections Urges Community to Follow Safe Practices,” issued Friday by the corrections department.
“We are fortunate no one was injured today,” James Baker, interim corrections commissioner, said in the release.
“Vermont DOC respects the right to protest in a respectful and safe manner,” Baker added. “That is not what occurred today. The unplanned protest led to an unsafe condition that put both staff and inmates at risk.”
The release stated that on Friday afternoon a caravan of “announced protestors in cars from Vermont and other states” drove up to the facility.
“In response to chanting from the protestors, some inmates in the facility created a disturbance as others became frightened about what was happening outside,” the release stated. “The DOC Specialized Response Team was called in to deescalate the situation as the population continued to grow increasingly restless.”
The release added that the damage inside the facility was minimal, and outside signs that had been put up two days earlier as part of the corrections department organized “Caravan of Support” for corrections officers and inmates were “stolen by protestors.”
The release did not state whether the protesters were with an organization, what they were protesting, or how many of them there were.
No other information from the corrections department was immediately available.
Vermont Defender General Matthew Valerio, whose office represents prisoners, said in an email late Friday night only that he was aware of the incident and had an investigator from his office “follow up” at the scene. He added there will be “a review of the situation” Saturday with the corrections department.
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees’ Association, the union representing corrections officers, said Friday night he knew little about the protest other than “it got the inmates fired up.”
“It’s probably the last thing that they need is added stress in an already stressful situation,” Howard said. “You have to be cautious about what your actions might cause and the harm that it might cause the corrections officers who are just trying to do their jobs.”