Disturbance at prison with COVID-19 outbreak ends without injuries

A disturbance at a state prison in Monroe where inmates and staff members have been infected with COVID-19 ended without any injuries, the state Department of Corrections said.

More than 100 inmates at the Monroe Correctional Complex began a demonstration at about 6 p.m. Wednesday in the recreation yard after walking out of their unit. The incident was believed to be caused by recent positive test results of six inmates infected with COVID-19, according to DOC. Five staff members also have tested positive.

Prison guards unsuccessfully tried to halt the demonstration with verbal commands, pepper spray, and sting balls, which release light, noise and rubber pellets. The inmates returned to the living unit and were told by guards to get on their bunk beds, but about 50 would not, said DOC spokesperson Susan Biller.

“That was when they started behavior of knocking stuff over and making a mess,” she said. “I have confirmation of [guards] hearing from [inmates] in the living unit that if they came down there, there would be harm to them.”

Inmates set off fire extinguishers in two housing areas within the Minimum Security Unit, where the COVID-19 outbreak has occurred. From the outside, the fire extinguishers gave off the appearance of smoke.

The prison’s Emergency Response Team ordered the inmates to stop.

“Because there were men who [continued] to ignore the directives, sting balls were then discharged into the area. The individuals then stopped the destruction of the two housing units and came into compliance,” Biller said.

DOC said there were no injuries to staff members or inmates. Gov. Jay Inslee received a full briefing of the incident “in real time,” said the governor’s spokesperson, Tara Lee.

“Both housing units were evacuated. The facility is in restricted movement. The situation is under control,” a DOC statement said.

Biller said Thursday that about 18 inmates were placed in what DOC calls “administrative segregation,” which is similar to solitary confinement, pending an investigation into Wednesday night’s disturbance.

The state prison system said it will do an internal investigation.

A few hours before the disturbance, Eraina Strong, a Tacoma resident whose fiance is an inmate in the Minimum Security Unit, told The News Tribune that she was angry and frustrated about a lack of transparency by DOC.

“They need to give the families more information. They’re playing hide-and-seek, and they’re upsetting families and inmates,” she said.

Strong also said inmates in single cells with less than a year on their sentences should be released, freeing up more space so there can be social distancing by inmates.

The state said an inmate last month from the Monroe Correctional Complex who was housed in a community medical center contracted COVID-19. The inmate has remained in the community medical center since March 27.

DOC said a 49-year-old inmate was transported Sunday to a local hospital for examination and rapid COVID-19 testing, which came back positive.

In response to that positive test, a 68-year-old inmate and a 28-year-old inmate were transferred to an isolation unit on Sunday, provided COVID-19 testing on-site and the tests were returned as positive on Tuesday, said Biller, the spokesperson for the Department of Corrections.

The two inmates were housed in the minimum security unit, which also is the location of the first positive incarcerated individual in the state’s correctional system.

In announcing that three inmates had been infected with COVID-19, DOC said it would not issue press releases on each new case of an inmate being infected. Instead, the department said it would update the numbers of infected inmates on a web page.

On Wednesday, DOC updated its website to indicate the jump in the number of cases from three to six and said five staff members also had tested positive for COVID-19, but it offered no details.

“All I know is that everyone is in stable condition,” Biller said Thursday.

This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 10:14 PM.