After a day and a half of the Collins Correctional Facility on lockdown, Commissioner of the NYS Department of Corrections Daniel F. Martuscello III provided an update on what happened inside the prison.
Martuscello spoke at a state budget hearing Thursday. Here's his response to lawmakers when asked what happened at the facility:
Martuscello: “On the early morning hours yesterday, a sergeant encountered multiple individuals in one cube. When he engaged them, the individual ran from the sergeant, they followed him to a bathroom, a use of force ensued, and they wound up finding two contraband cell phones. Other incarcerated people in the dorm became agitated because they didn't understand why the force was being used, why they were chasing the individual. The staff on scene, including that sergeant, did a great job in de-escalating that situation and resolved it and everyone went back to their cubes.”
"Later that morning, there was a potential threat that staff identified and as a result, they left the dorms. We actually didn’t lose the dorms; they walked off of the dorms because of the perceived threat."
Sen. Daniel G. Stec: "Has that happened before? When was the last time we had a situation where there was no adult supervision in the dorms?"
Martuscello: "The staff remained outside of the dorm itself."
Sen. Daniel G. Stec: "They barricaded themselves in?"
Martuscello: "They did not barricade themselves in. That is not true. I was on-site at that facility yesterday. The incarcerated remained communicative with the people on the other side of the door that we locked, right? We were in constant communication with those individuals, so a lot of false narratives around that."
DOCCS said everyone is safe, one officer sustained a minor injury and returned to duty and no incarcerated individuals were injured. In the statement on Wednesday DOCCS also said the facility would remain on lockdown for a full facility frisk.
7 News reached out to DOCCS for clarification on exactly what happened, both Wednesday and Thursday, such as:
- If the staff de-escalated the situation, why were there threats?
- Why did the COs have to exit the dorms?
- Why did the commissioner travel to the facility and issue a lockdown?
We have yet to receive a response to our questions.
