The Bureau of Prisons said Thursday that it is halting exercises by its riot-control squads until it can put new safety measures in place in the wake of incidents in which prison staffers were injured.
The decision comes amid increasing public scrutiny of the Bureau of Prisons, which deployed Special Operations Response Teams, or SORTs, to help quell unrest in the nation’s capital in recent weeks over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other instances of police misconduct.
A memorandum issued Thursday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said recent incidents involving SORT exercises were dangerous for other prison staffers.
As a result, the Bureau of Prisons decided to “issue guidance to suspend mock exercises” until new safety guidelines are in place, according to a statement from the agency.
The two exercise incidents occurred last year, according to the memorandum. In one, a SORT member deployed a stun grenade, or “flash bang,” that “hit a staff member role player and detonated, causing significant injury requiring surgery and ongoing treatment,” according to the memorandum. A review of the incident found that the officers were not supposed to be using that type of munition.
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In the second mock exercise, SORT members forced their way into a locked room in which there were two prison staffers with medical conditions who were not involved in the exercise.
The SORT members allegedly pepper-sprayed the room and fired a projectile that struck a staff member in the chest. That led to a physical altercation, “including pushing and shoving, between SORT members and the uninvolved staff members,” the memorandum said.
Share this articleShareThe inspector general found that “inappropriate and dangerous events” occurred during the two exercises because of “inadequate policies” at the Bureau of Prisons.
The agency has come under public scrutiny over the use of prison riot teams to deal with protesters on the streets of Washington, many of them in gear that made it hard to identify who they were or what agency they were with.
The Bureau of Prisons said it would implement the inspector general’s recommended changes, which include designating a safety officer for any exercises, recording the exercises and drafting clearer rules to govern such exercises.
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