NEWTON – Approximately 10:00 A.M. this date the Newton Medium Security Correctional Facility was placed under lockdown status due to several inmate on inmate physical altercations in the recreation yard.
All available staff responded in a very professional and effective manner to separate, control and restrain the approximate 15 inmates involved. Chemical agents were deployed to separate inmates in several of the altercations. All involved inmates have been placed in segregation status as the investigation continues. Non-involved inmates were generally cooperative with staff instructions and returned to assigned cells without incident.
Other than a few staff exposed to chemical agents and one staff with a few arm scrapes during a take down to apply restraints, there were no staff injuries. There have been no serious inmate reported or observed injuries due to immediate staff response.
The facility has since transitioned to a restricted movement status. Most inmates are under cell restriction except for limited movement for meals and medical appointments. All visits at the medium facility were cancelled for Friday and are expected to resume on Saturday.
The Minimum Security Correctional Release Center continues under normal operations including visitation.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, to include several more interviews, no additional information is available at this time.
Fred Scaletta, Department of Corrections
