Garner Put on ‘Lockdown’

 Following Inmate Attack

By Andrew Gorosko

The high-security Garner Correctional Institution on Nunnawauk Road was placed on “lockdown” status on the night of Friday, September 5, following an attack there, in which one inmate wielding a razor slashed another inmate and a correction officer, causing serious injuries that sent both men to the hospital for surgery.

When a prison is locked down, security measures are heightened. Initially, inmates are restricted to their cells. Any prisoner movements within the building are tightly controlled. Prison staff members thoroughly search the building and inmates’ belongings for hidden weapons, in an activity known as a “shakedown.” Inmates are questioned. Prisoner privileges are cut.

The Garner lockdown was still in effect at 8 am Thursday, September 11.

The prison altercation occurred between two Garner inmates at approximately 7:30 pm September 5, during an inmate recreation period, state police said.

In that incident, inmate Jorge Alvarez, 46, allegedly used a razor to cut inmate Dexter Bennett, 28, according to state Department of Correction (DOC) spokesman Edward Ramsey. Correction Officer Michael Simpson, 38, attempted to intervene in the fight, Ramsey said.

“During this incident, the correction officer and one inmate [Bennett] both received severe lacerations from a razor and were transported to Danbury Hospital by ambulance. There they underwent surgery for serious wounds,” state police said.

Both Simpson and Bennett have since been released from the hospital, Ramsey said, adding that Bennett was sent to the Garner infirmary for medical care. Bennett was later transferred to MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.

After the altercation, DOC staffers restrained Alvarez and placed him in an isolation cell. The DOC later transferred Alvarez to the state’s maximum security Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, Ramsey said.

Alvarez is serving a 60-year sentence on a murder conviction. He has a 2041 release date. Bennett is serving a 10-year sentence for first degree robbery. He has a 2012 release date.

The state police’s major crime squad is investigating the incident and expects to press charges.

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe said that prison officials notified the town of the heightened security status at Garner under the lockdown, as they would notify the town of any such similar serious incident at the prison.

Newtown police did not become involved in Garner-related security measures stemming from the lockdown, the police chief said, noting that Garner security falls under the state police’s jurisdiction.

 Garner, which opened in November 1992, is a two-building facility on 118 acres at 50 Nunnawauk Road. The main building contains 245,000 square feet of space and houses all inmates. An adjacent 15,100-square-foot building is used for maintenance. Garner is a Level 4 prison in a prison system in which Level 5 is the highest security rating. Garner typically holds approximately 700 inmates.