This article was altered in two respects. The author used the word "guard" to refer to correctional officers, and this error was corrected. Correctional officers in Florida must complete 542 hours of training at the Corrections Academy, including nine weeks of academic and four weeks of on-the-job training on a prison compound. They must be certified in defensive tactics, firearms (.38 revolvers and 12 gauge shotguns), use of pepper spray and as First Responders. Finally, they must pass the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's four-hour exam to be certified as correctional officers. So when journalists refer to correctional officers as "guards," officers have a tendency to find it both inaccurate and offensive. The second alteration in this article was a correction in the custody levels at Hendry CI.

The scene at the Hendry Correctional Institution is reported to be quiet following a disturbance on the evening of August 17, that resulted in injuries to 13 people, one seriously, and involved between 75 and 100 inmates at the facility that is located near the Hendry-Collier County line.

According to Richard Vollmer, personnel director for Hendry Correctional who is serving as spokesperson for the facility, the incident began shortly after 6 p.m. when an inmate was being removed from the general population for being intoxicated.

Vollmer said a group of other inmates became aggravated at seeing the one man being secured and attacked the correctional officers.

Eleven correctional officers and two inmates were injured. One of the correctional officers was listed in critical condition with a head injury. The others were treated and released.

"Some of the officers will be returning to the hospital for follow-up treatment," said Vollmer, "but none are expected to have serious injuries."

Correctional officers injured in the incident were David T. Williams of Lehigh Acres, Alex Beattie of Golden Gate; Eric Clark, John Graf, James P. Gregg, Joseph M. Henry and Robert Horkirk, all of Immokalee; Peter Lewkowic of Naples; Thomas Mercurio and Edward Wheeler of Lehigh Acres. Correctional officer Adam Dodson was hospitalized at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center.

(Editorial note: Vollmer was not aware at the time of how serious Officers Adam Dodson and Ed Wheeler's injuries were. Dodson sustained a blow to the head from a #10 can that originally held peanut butter but was filled with concrete and used as a doorstop. Inmates picked Wheeler up over their heads and slammed him down on a concrete sidewalk. He is in a wheelchair today as a result of his injuries.)

Vollmer said the two inmates were treated and released for injuries they received at the hands of other inmates. According to reports, most of the injuries were inflicted with fists, but one correctional officer was struck by a board.

The uprising lasted to about 7:20 p.m., when Vollmer reported that all of the prisoners were secured.

Extra personnel from the Hendry and Collier County Sheriff's Departments and Emergency Medical Services, Charlotte and Desoto Correctional facilities and off-duty Hendry Correctional Institution employees were called in to assist in containing the prisoners.

The corrections officers in riot gear and armed only with batons made a sweep through the institution to facilitate the containment. Other law enforcement personnel were visible with firearms but were not needed. No shots were fired during the incident.

Approximately 80 inmates were involved in the disturbance and were removed from the facility and sent to other institutions. Vollmer said he was not sure, but he thought the inmates were sent to Union Correctional Institution and other institutions in the surrounding areas.

The incident will be investigated and charges will be filed against those inmates that were involved. Vollmer said there might also be possible procedural changes recommended, but none are expected.

Only a small portion of the almost 950 prisoners at the facility took part in the incident.

"Most of the other inmates just moved out of the area on their own," said Vollmer.

The compound houses minimum, medium and close custody prisoners serving up to life sentences for mostly drug-related crimes, according to prison authorities.

by Rick Schuster
Caloosa Belle

The inmate who sparked the riot got drunk on a concoction known in prison circles as "buck," a noxious mixture of any type of fruit, fruit drink or vegetable placed in a container and left to ferment into alcohol. Often the fruits or vegetables are combined with any type of starch, sugar or yeast to speed up the fermentation process. Inmates use bread as a filter and that supplies the yeast or they steal some from the prison kitchen. Most institutions no longer use yeast for baking because of this. Buck made from raisins is especially powerful. Some combinations include rice and apple cores (apple buck), tomato paste & apples and orange juice & potatoes. Some of these items are pilfered from the kitchen, where inmates cook and serve the food themselves, and others like orange juice can be bought at the inmate canteen and buried in the prison yard until it is "ready" or the mixture is hidden between cells where pipes are located so that heat can kickstart the fermentation process. Though the resulting liquid smells awful, ("worse than Kim Chi gone bad" as one officer put it) it allegedly produces enough of an alcoholic high to compensate for the up to 60 days in confinement that will result if the inmate is caught with it. Inmates will use whatever kind of container they can find to produce their wine and some have had serious medical reactions when using a container (like a bleach bottle) that has not been thoroughly cleaned out. It has another downside, according to Correctional Services Administrator Wayne Hemphill, a 20+ year DC veteran who has worked in over eight prisons statewide. "It produces one headbanger of a hangover."

Buck produces headaches for correctional officers too, because an inmate drunk on buck "has a tendency to think he's superman," according to Hemphill. "If you had 100 inmates high on marijuana, maybe one of them would give you trouble. If you have 100 inmates drunk on buck, every one of them would be looking for a fight," he said.

Subsequent to the Hendry riot, all institutions were required to "e-form" (now known as MINS reports) all finds of buck in facilities to the Inspector General's Office, whereas in the past disciplinary reports for this infraction were simply recorded and kept at the institutions, with a copy eventually making its way to Central Office. This change in policy enabled the Inspector General's Office to keep accurate records of buck usage in prison, which aided both contraband interdiction efforts and area searches.

Then Correctional Officer Sergeant Eric Clark was at Hendry CI when the rioting started.

"At about 5 minutes till 6:00 p.m., there was a trouble call from "F" dorm by Officer Ray Graepel. Officer Don Jones responded. When he arrived, he called and said he needed further assistance. A general call for assistance was made and Lt. Robert Hobkirk from the Work Camp responded. He and I went to "F" dorm where we observed a smashed porcelain toilet. Officer Graepel told us that he had been performing the inmate count and inmate Jimmy Scott had been loud and disruptive during his count. After he had finished count, he called inmate Scott to the Officers' station and issued him a C.C. (Corrective Consultation) for 5-2 (Violation of Count Procedures-All inmates are required to remain silent and sit up in their bunks for Formal Counts). At that time, inmate Scott (who walked with the aid of a four-legged aluminum walker) went into the bathroom, snatched the toilet from the floor, lifted it over his head and smashed it. That's when Officer Graepel called for assistance. Lt. Hobkirk and I went into the open bay dorm and to Scott's bunk. He was reclining and looking at the foot of the bed. All he would say was, "You Mother******s are goin' to have to kill me." He was obviously intoxicated.

The evening meal was in progress by this time but the "F" west inmates had not been allowed to get off their racks (beds) because of the incident. After listening to Scott's statements, I looked across the bay and noticed that there were at least 10 inmates standing and watching. I ordered them back to their racks but they didn't comply.

Lt. Hobkirk and I went back to the Officer's station where I suggested, and Lt. Hobkirk agreed, that we open the inmate exit door when it was "F" dorm's turn to eat, which would allow as many inmates as possible to exit the dorm prior to taking inmate Scott into custody. Tom Mercurio, Don Jones, Ray Graepel and I positioned ourselves in the vestibule in front of the exit door -- Mercurio and Graepel in the front and Jones and I in in the rear but in front of the door. The door was popped and chow was announced. Most of the inmates exited the dorm without incident. Inmate Bryant Brown came around the corner, saw us, and went back into the sleeping area. He reappeared with about nine other inmates who formed a circle around inmate Scott as they all attempted to exit the dorm. I reached back and closed the exit door and they proceeded into us. Of course, when the fight started, we called 10-24 (Literally "Trouble-Send Help". While this could be used for many situations, we traditionally reserve it to communicate that a staff member is about to or has already suffered serious physical harm) and officers responded from the work camp and staff housing.

Inmate Scott went for Sgt. Mercurio and wrapped his arm around Sgt. Mercurio's neck from behind and took him to the floor. Scott was on his back with Sgt. Mercurio on top of him. Sgt. Mercurio was also on his back. Some time during this, I was hit in the nose and my glasses were broken. (They were replaced by the Department of Corrections: $77) Officer Graepel managed to keep the other inmates off of us while Officer Jones and I tried to pry Scott's arm from Sgt. Mercurio's neck. We could not do it. The inmates who had surrounded Scott recognized that he was in some sort of distress before we did. They backed off and let us take Scott to the Officers' station. He was having a seizure. Medical responded and took Scott to the clinic with the aid of an inmate. (This inmate was one of several who were rewarded for their behavior during the riot by being sent to the institution of their choice.)

As we entered the Officer Station, we heard an assistance call that there were officers down behind the dorm. We exited the back door and found several officers unconscious. We dragged them back into the dorm. (In later discussions, we learned that the initial assistance response was staggered - a few at a time. From the control room, none of this could be seen. As the officers rounded the southeast corner of the dorm, the inmates were waiting for the officers and taking them out as they arrived. The officers never had a chance to call and warn the ones behind them.

After getting those officers inside, we noticed that there was a group of about 25 inmates moving down the sidewalk toward "E" dorm, possibly headed for the Protective Custody wing. There were five of us who went outside to break up the crowd: Lt. Robert Hobkirk, Sgt. Steven Logsdon, Sgt. Thomas Mercurio and one more. We were in front of the west canteen when the inmates saw us and came back.

I was kicked in the chest (martial arts style) and fell on my back. I got back up and was blindsided from my right. I got hit on the bony corner of my jaw just below my right ear. It was like turning off a light switch. When I woke up, I was on my left side in a fetal position and getting kicked in the back, face and back of my head. I played 'possum. During this time, I got hit in the head with a rock that required three stitches. When the kicking stopped, I paused for a moment and then looked up. There were four officers in the center of the compound with shotguns and the inmates were running for dorms. I got up and found that the other four officers who were with me were also out. Lt. Hobkirk and Sgt. Mercurio had been stripped of their personal possessions - watches and so forth. Miraculously, I had the OIC key ring and they hadn't rifled me. The key ring had one of those big Folger Adam keys on it that was stuck in my belt with no lanyard (a device that attaches a key ring to our belt) rather than in my pocket and they were in plain view to those who looked.

Very shortly baton (riot) squads were assembled and outfitted. They went about the task of herding the last holdouts into the dorms. These inmates had been pushed to the doors of the nearest dorm. Inmates who refused to go in the dorm were being pushed into dorms that they did not live in and they knew that Master Roster count would identify them as participants. Just before the squad was about to administer a mace-like gas known as C.S. (Orthochlorobenzal Malononitrile), the last inmate was secured in a dorm.

Tommy (Mercurio) and I went to the hospital on the last of eight ambulances that were dispatched to assist us. When we were in the ER sitting side by side in wheelchairs, his wife arrived and walked right past him to the desk to ask where he was. He was beat up so bad that she did not recognize him. His head was swollen up like a grape. He was, in fact, saved by two inmates who picked him up and spirited him away while he was unconscious. If they hadn't, he may not be with us today.

I am almost absolutely positive that the time from the first trouble call until the last inmate was secured was about 15 minutes. It seemed like forever at the time. It did take several more hours to identify the inmates who were involved, confine them and get everyone else back to their proper area. When I got back from the hospital at about midnight, the round up had not begun. Inmate Scott never made it to confinement at Hendry. He was locked in an isolation cell in the clinic.

Captain Eric Clark:
"We made many mistakes that day. On the whole, we can say that we ended up on the "up side." No one died. I am sure that it was one of those spontaneous things or the outcome would have been different. Those mistakes for example,

• I should not have had the OIC (Officer in Charge) ring displayed as I did. I was lucky not to have lost them. As an aside, maybe it is a good thing for someone other than the "White Shirt" to carry the keys. As I said, Lt. Hobkirk was stripped of all his possessions. My keys are always in my pocket now.
• We probably should not have isolated the incident by letting those who did not wish to be involved leave the dorm. If we had not done that, the incident probably would not have spread outside. The other side of that argument is that the situation in the dorm would not have merited a full scale response at the time. All we had until the scuffle started in the vestibule was a broken toilet and several inmates standing up and refusing my order to sit on their bed.
• Evidence Handling training at that time was practically nonexistent. The Institutional Investigator lived a good hour away. When the inmates were rounded up in the dorms and taken to the confinement unit, their clothing was all thrown into one corner and therefore rendered useless as evidence. Our lack of proper evidence handling resulted in only four of the inmates involved in the riot getting outside charges. I believe that they got an additional four or five years each and have all been released. This seems such a small price to pay for their actions. It's noteworthy that the instigator, inmate Scott, was not charged, though he did receive disciplinary reports and was transferred to another institution.
• Until this incident occurred, I leaned toward the male chauvinist viewpoint. I felt that, if something like this happened, the male officers may be so concerned for the females present that they could make a fatal mistake because of their distraction. In reality, there was not enough time to "make that fatal decision" and I observed that female officers had a calming effect on the inmates that may very well have prevented this incident from becoming worse.
• I also realized that the response in our emergency plans (locate and verify, isolate, evacuate, resolve, debrief) was an automatic response. We did these things to the best of our ability without thinking, "What comes next?"
• This incident started in the Left wing of "F" dorm. It was an open bay type housing unit with 73 beds assigned in it. It was also our reception area. Since the department tries to locate inmates as close to home as possible, most of these inmates were from the Ft. Lauderdale area and knew each other from outside, which could be a problem if they are from rival gangs, for example. One of the departmental decisions resulting from this was to move the Reception wing to a wing of one of the "T" dorms which had two man cells rather than Open bay type housing.
• We also learned to respond as a group rather than one or two at a time.
• Finally, I learned to recognize that a group of inmates who do not respond to a simple order like, "Sit on your rack" is a major indicator of things to come. The "Bandwagon effect" is extremely attractive to inmates.

I came in the next day because I believe that if you don't get back on the horse when it throws you, you won't ever. I took a tour of the confinement area to see if I could identify anyone and to subtly let them know that I was still there."

The two officers with the most severe injuries, Dodson and Wheeler, could not return to work for any length of time and eventually resigned. Hendry C.I. closed on July 1, 2002.

Today, Eric Clark, who was struck on the top of his head with a rock during the riot, is a Correctional Officer Captain at Brevard C.I.; Tom Mercurio, who was beaten about the head, is a Lieutenant at Hendry's Work Camp, and Ray Graepel is a Sergeant at Copeland Road Prison. Lt. Robert Hobkirk retired, as did John Graf. Alex Beattie did not return to work, deciding that this job was not for him. D. C. (Sonny) Jones is an officer at Hendry C.I. Steve Logsdon suffered a punctured eardrum when an inmate jumped on his back and boxed his ears, and he lost 30% of his hearing in his left ear as a result. He is a Sergeant at Hendry Work Camp. David Williams is a Sergeant at Charlotte CI. Joseph M. Henry is a Sergeant at Central Florida Reception Center. James P. Gregg retired from the Department in 1992 as a Correctional Probation Officer.

Inmate Jimmy Scott is currently at Jackson C.I. serving a life term with a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence for first degree murder. As a result of the riot, he was given disciplinary reports and lost gain time for: unarmed assault, consuming intoxicants, disorderly conduct, verbal disrespect and destruction of state property. He was not prosecuted, though four others were prosecuted and found guilty. He was transferred to Martin C.I. about a month after the riot.

On October 3, 1989 at 6:30 p.m. at Cross City Correctional Institution, a group of about 20 black inmates attack several white inmates near the inmate housing area. Several officers intervene and attempt to break up the assault. The group of black inmates turn on the officers and attack them. One officer is beaten, kicked and knocked unconscious. Two suffer broken jaws and one a concussion. Inmates use pipes and other makeshift weapons during the assault. Additional officers come to the aid of the first group and help the injured to the Control Room area. Tower officers fire four shots (from AR-15s) into the ground to keep the inmates from moving toward the fence or into other areas of the compound. (Keeping the inmates out of the recreation yard where they could pick up weight bars as weapons is a consideration.) It is later learned that the apparent goal of the inmates is to take over the institution.

Local law enforcement is summoned for backup. Officers from the Florida Highway Patrol, Dixie County Sheriff's Office, the Game and Freshwater Fish Commission and Cross City Police Department take position around the perimeter of the institution so that DC officers are free to go inside the prison.

During this time, the attacking group, which grows to between 50 and 75 in size at the height of the disturbance, refuses to return to their specific housing units.

About 30 minutes after the initial incident, a Confrontation Control Force Squad, (a prison version of a SWAT team) including 12 officers armed with shotguns, enters the yard and orders the inmates to return to their housing units. Only then do the inmates comply with the order to return to their quarters.

Initially, three officers are transported to hospitals. The most serious injuries sustained are by Sgt. Larry Edmonds and Sgt. Richard Biss, both of whom receive broken jaws. Four inmates are taken to Shands Hospital: two for injuries sustained at the hands of other inmates, including a fractured skull, and two who sustain seizures which may or may not have been related to the incident.

57 inmates are transferred to Union C.I. after the incident. Cross City C.I.'s main unit is locked down.

At 7:15 p.m. the compound is declared secure and by 7:55 p.m. all inmates have returned to their dormitories. At 8:50 p.m. teams trained to deal with disturbances from nearby institutions arrive to assist with the transfer and relocation of the rioters. Staff response to this point had been timely, appropriate and in accordance with Department rules.

Between 9:00 p.m. and midnight, certain officers are assigned to identify inmate participants in the disturbance and escort them to the visiting park area for processing and transfer to a more secure correctional institution.

Seventeen inmates already in confinement are designated for transfer to make more confinement space available in case there are further problems. All 17 of these inmates report being physically abused by the officers.

In carrying out the process of identifying and transferring inmates, a group of officers go from dormitory to dormitory. It is during this process and the process of moving inmates from confinement that many allegations of physical abuse and destruction of property are made by inmates. In response to these complaints, an intensive investigation is undertaken by the Department Inspector General's Office. The investigation, which includes interviewing over 250 individuals, leads investigators to believe that a number of inmates did suffer physical harm at the hands of officers in the aftermath of the disturbance. The collected testimony and physical evidence indicate that a group of officers, ranging in rank from Captain to Correctional Officer, went through the dormitories on at least two occasions, during which some inmates were abused physically and personal property was destroyed. Two inmates were hospitalized, one suffering a broken jaw and one received injuries which necessitated the surgical removal of his eye.

As a result of the investigation, criminal charges are filed by the State's Attorney against seven correctional officers. Five are found guilty and receive sentences ranging from three to almost seven years in Federal prison. They are also fired by the DC and eight others are suspended.