Pointe Blanche: --- A riot broke out at the house of detention on Monday morning as some of the prisoners decided to protest against the transfer of two of their prison inmates to Bonaire. Police said they were called around 10:15 am when the prison guards on duty could not restore order. The Observation Center (the area from where the guards can oversee all the cells in the prison) was destroyed by the prisoners involved in the riot.An investigation is scheduled to take place by detectives department to determine who is responsible for the damage. Currently order has been restored at the prison. Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said the situation at the prison was extremely dangerous and police had to respond with their K9 unit to restore order. "All of the off duty officers had to respond to the scene totaling 50. Henson said the prisoners were searched and placed in a secure area while the cells were searched for weapons and dangerous items. Henson said there was major destruction by the inmates. Chief Inspector Carl John headed the operation, while Henson described the operation and situation during the riot as tense. He felt they caught the prisoners by surprise since the team of officers responded to the scene in full riot gear. Even though unusual and tense Henson said, no force was necessary since the prisoners understood the seriousness of their actions and cooperated with police during the search.
The "take back" of the prison lasted approximately 45 minutes after which the prisoners were returned to their cells and an assessment of the damage was conducted.
A press release from the prison director Russell Ricardo states that on April 19, 2010 around 08:30 am, two inmates were taken out of their respective cells and taken to the front section of the prison to be taken to the airport. They were being transferred to the prison of Bonaire because of their repeated misbehavior in the prison and for instigating bad behavior amongst the other inmates.At this time the inmates, of the Juvenile section were getting air on the recreation field. Some remained in their section while others were on the field airing. When the prison guard came to the alley with an empty box to collect the belongings of one of the inmates that was leaving, he was told, "Nobody going anywhere with anything and nobody leaving from here." The inmates then destroyed the box.
The acting head of Safety and Security was informed of the situation.
When the other inmates on the recreation field learned that the particular inmates were being taken to Bonaire, they left the field and went upstairs to their section. They broke the lock of the section of another inmate and together the inmates from that section then proceeded to break all the locks off the other sections thus freeing the inmates of those sections. They began throwing all the locks they broke at the prison guards, at which point the prison guards started leaving the general housing section.
Two inmates were threatening the prison guards by telling them they know where they lived and who their families are.The lock of the Central command office of the general housing area was also broken and all the keys were taken. The inmates also destroyed the ceiling lights, the porto-phones, the amplifier machine, chargers, the computer and printer, the padlocks, the public announcement system and the water cooler. They broke the water pipes, which resulted in the housing area being flooded with water.
The Inmates Association tried twice to reason with the inmates, but with no success. The police were called in to neutralize the situation.