By Svetlana Marshall

A PRISON officer was recently choked and robbed within the walls of the Georgetown Prison, while another one had a long knife placed on his chest by an inmate, Chief Prison Officer Roddy Denhart disclosed yesterday.Denhart made this disclosure during the ongoing Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the recent riot at the Georgetown Prison, even as unconfirmed reports continue to indicate that prisoners have taken control of sections of the jailhouse.

AGGRESSION ESCALTED

On a scale from 1-10, the Chief Prison Officer attached to the Georgetown Prison explained that in the past the level of aggression displayed by prisoners was between seven and eight, but now it has escalated.
“Now it is full-blown; the inmates are out of order,” Denhart said in response to a question put to him by Commissioner Dale Erskine.

In his opinion, the “institution” is losing its control “in totality.” In a quest to justify his statement, the Chief Prison Officer alluded to a number of incidents in which prison wardens were attacked, threatened and disrespected by prisoners.
“In your presence, regardless of who, they will be on their cellphones, marijuana in their mouth smoking. They have long, improvised weapons, walking around…and doing whatever they choose to do. Recently, a prison officer was choked and robbed in the prison yard; another one was pat on his chest with a long knife that an inmate had; just ‘hailing he up’, blatantly hailing the officer up with a long knife on his chest,” Denhart explained.

INTIMIDATION
Last week, Officer-in-Charge of the Georgetown Prison, Senior Superintendent Kevin Pilgrim told the CoI that “intimidation” is the order of the day at the Camp Street Prison.
“There is a…stronger gang culture now more than ever and as it is that poses problems in itself,” the Officer-in- Charge had said, positing that the shortage of wardens does not help the situation.

With a population of approximately 1,000 inmates and an increase in the numbers of gangs, Superintendent Pilgrim had said prison officers are now “timid.”

Meanwhile, while being cross-examined by the Prison Service Attorney Eusi Anderson, Denhart recalled that during the prison riot on March 3, some of the prisoners were heard calling the Deputy Director of Prisons Superintendent Gladwin Samuels “murder man and killa,” but said there was a reason for that.
DISCIPLINARIAN SAMUELS
Denhart told the Commission that Samuels is disliked by prisoners. “From my personal view, Mr. Samuels is a very stern individual, he is a disciplinarian, and doesn’t stick nonsense,” he explained.
It was further explained that the Deputy Director of Prisons has a very good system in place which allows him to easily gather information on underhand activities within the Georgetown Prison. “Most of the biggest drug busts in the prison was done by Mr. Samuels and because of that fact he is not liked by most of the inmates.”
On the other hand, he said, Senior Superintendent Pilgrim is perceived to be a “very fair individual.”
“Compared to Mr. Samuels, he [Pilgrim] is a more humble person…He has his own style of dealing with things. Mr. Samuels will hit the target straight in the middle, but Mr. Pilgrim will probably go around a little bit, take a little longer…but in the end he will achieve what is it he went to achieve.”
SECURITY DENT
Subsequent to the riot, Samuels was sent on leave pending investigation into the tragic event. Prisoners have accused him of saying “leff dem let dem burn and die,” but he has since refuted this allegation.
According to Denhart, the absence of Samuels from the Georgetown Prison has created a dent within the security system.

“His absence has…bore a hole in the security system to some extent and like I said his network is his network, I don’t know how he does it,” he explained, adding that the decision to remove Samuels from the prison has “affected them a great lot.”

The second person to take the stand yesterday was Chief Prison Officer Medex Patricia Anderson. Anderson, who broke down in tears while being cross-examined by Counsel Anderson, recalled that she reported for duty shortly after 08:00hrs on March 3.

At around 10:30hrs, Anderson was notified that a fire had occurred and her service was needed at the front of the prison. Based on her knowledge, the medical team on duty at the time had attended to 16 injured prisoners, one of whom was among the 17 prisoners who had died that day. Notably, the doctor was not on duty to assist at the time.

After the situation was brought under control, Medex Anderson said she was instructed by Senior Superintendent Pilgrim to visit the burnt-out Capital Block A.
“Burnt bodies were everywhere,” she recalled, while reflecting on that fatal day. According to her, approximately six or seven burnt bodies were piled up in front of the division’s door. Other bodies were seen under the beds and in the restroom facilities among other areas.
Medex Anderson, who told the Commission that she had an up-close view of the bodies, did not recall seeing a headless body or a body lying face-up on a burnt-out bed as claimed by other prison officers. She, however, noted that many of the prisoners were severely burnt, one of whom appeared wrist-less but could not ascertain whether it was caused by the fire.