Garner Correctional Institution—

Streamlined Communications Listed As Goal in Handling Prison Emergencies

By Andrew Gorosko

An analysis of a recent large-scale emergency training drill at the state’s high-security Garner Correctional Institution on Nunnawauk Road indicates that the three agencies that were involved in the exercise should work to streamline both verbal and electronic interagency communications to enhance performance in handling prison-based emergencies, according to a Garner official.

Garner Major Michelle Maynard told members of the Public Safety Committee for Garner Correctional Institution on December 7 that representatives of the state Department of Correction (DOC), state police, and Newtown police gathered recently to analyze what went well during the November 10 drill, and also discuss how those agencies’ performance in responding to prison emergencies could be improved.

Ms Maynard attended the December 7 committee session representing Garner Warden Giovanny Gomez.

An analysis of the prison drill indicated the streamlining both electronic and verbal communications among the three agencies is a goal, she said. Officials are refining a paradigm for responding to various prison emergencies.

Overall, the prison drill went well, Ms Maynard said.

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe said the drill gave town police good training and provided them with an opportunity to meet the people in other agencies with whom they would work in the event of an actual prison emergency.

An analysis of the three agency members’ performance during the drill identified areas requiring improvement, he said.

“We worked well together and that bodes well for the community,” Chief Kehoe said.

Besides the goal of improved communications among the three agencies, the analysis indicated how internal communications could be improved within those agencies, he said.

During the November 10 drill, a state police spotter airplane flew about 1,000 feet above Fairfield Hills, as bloodhounds, German shepherds, and their trailing handlers scattered across the terrain seeking the scents of four inmates who had “escaped” from the nearby prison, as part of a large-scale emergency training exercise in and near the prison.

Realism was the watchword at the training drill, with state police closing down the intersections leading to Garner and barring public access to the prison area while the drill was underway.

The public had been notified in advance that a realistic drill would be conducted.

The LifeStar helicopter made a landing and takeoff at Garner’s helipad in a simulated patient transport. Drill participants employed realistic radio communications in simulating the emergency.

The about 60 people who participated in the event had very limited information about what would unfold during the training exercise in order to test their responses to unforeseen situations.

Following the drill, Warden Gomez explained that the exercise included a simulated fight within the prison followed by a hostage-taking situation. Also, four inmates “escaped” from the prison during the training exercise. About 40 police vehicles staged for the drill at the Cochran House parking lot at nearby Fairfield Hills.

No actual inmates participated in the role-playing event intended to test the coordination, radio communications, and command and control capabilities of the three organizations working in unison.

The training exercise was the first of its type at Garner and one of the largest events of its kind ever conducted in the state. The drill was intended to aid new supervisory personnel at Garner prepare for potential prison emergencies.

Major Maynard told committee members December 7 that 26 new correction officer cadets are undergoing training for work at Garner.

The prison’s inmate population on that day was 628 male prisoners, 518 of whom are categorized as inmates with mental health disorders, and 100 of whom are general prisoners.

Garner, which opened in November 1992, has a Level 4 security rating in the state prison system, in which the highest security rating is Level 5.

Since last spring, the prison has become the prime facility in the state prison system for inmates with psychiatric disorders. The transition to a prison specializing in psychiatric inmates has resulted in a high turnover rate among correction officers at Garner, prompting numerous requests for transfers to work at other prisons.