May 15, 2019: During a protest in front of the jail, inmates inside smashed out windows in all three buildings of the facility. Many of the inmates then attempted to communicate through the smashed windows with protesters outside, shouting “help us” and “there is mold.”
2019
01
May
Uprising at Bell County Detention Center, Kentucky
May 1, 2019: At least five inmates flooded cells by clogging toilets and shower drains, set off fire alarms, and ripped a TV off the wall. The inmates then allegedly used pieces of the broken television as weapons to threaten officers that came into the cell.
25
Mar
Mass Escape at Nash County Detention Center, North Carolina
March 25, 2019: Five inmates identified a camera blind spot and escaped through a hole in the fence on Monday night.
15
Mar
Disturbance at Covington County Jail, Alabama
March 15, 2019: During a transfer of three prisoners, a group of “unruly” prisoners engaged in what the sheriff’s department called a “riot”—although they did not specify what that entailed. According to the sheriff’s department, the prisoners were upset because they believed that one of the prisoners being transferred had been pushed to the floor, although the sheriff claims the prisoner actually jumped.
08
Mar
Uprising at Crawford County Detention Center, Arkansas
March 8, 2019: When a sergeant and a deputy attempted to remove a prisoner from a pod containing 40 prisoners, the other 39 prisoners interfered. When the prisoner was removed, the rest of the prisoners attacked prison infrastructure, destroying televisions, lights, ceiling tiles, phones and the sprinkler system, which caused significant flooding.
14
Jan
Hunger Strike at Robert Presley Detention Center, California
January 14-18, 2019: Approximately 16 prisoners launched a hunger strike in protest of lack of medical care, lack of out-of-cell time allotted by prison policy and other policy violations.
2018
20
Dec
Attack on Guards at Central Men’s Jail, California
December 20, 2018: An unknown number of jail inmates attacked guards, leading to five guards and one inmate being transported to the hospital for treatment. The motivation for the attack is unknown.
11
Dec
Uprising at Robert N. Davoren Complex, Rikers Island, New York
December 11, 2018: A group of about 10 prisoners barricaded themselves into the cafeteria unit of the jail at 11:30 am and used mattresses to defend themselves against guards. In the video, guards are seen spraying pepper spray on the prisoners and violently tackling them.
04
Dec
Uprising at Iredell County Detention Center, North Carolina
December 4, 2018: Fights broke out at about 7:45pm between four detainees and guards as the detainees were being led back from visitation. As the fight escalated, a group of about 25 detainees started “becoming loud, hitting the glass in the door, and causing disturbances,” according to the press release.
11
Nov
Attack on Guards at Iredell County Detention Center, North Carolina
November 11, 2018: A fight broke out between two prison guards and four detainees during Sunday breakfast. After the altercation began between one detainee and a guard, other detainees joined in. Following the fight, charges were brought against all four prisoners.
