Spalding County

Spalding County inmates barricade themselves inside housing unit, refuse to comply with authorities

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — Several Spalding County inmates are facing new charges after causing a “disturbance” inside the detention center.

The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office says that several inmates barricaded themselves inside a housing unit with metal bunk beds and attempted to cover the surveillance cameras.

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Sheriff Darrell Dix said staff at the detention center tried to de-escalate the situation before it got out of hand, including meeting face-to-face with the inmates involved.

“The inmates that were involved chose not to cooperate with those attempts and the situation began to slowly deteriorate,” said Sheriff Dix.

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After several more failed attempts to de-escalate the situation, Sheriff Dix sent the SWAT Team, K-9 units and detention staff into the housing unit with a distraction device. Once they were inside the area, all of the inmates complied and no further incidents occurred.

Sheriff Dix says that the inmates who instigated the event have been placed in lockdown and will face disciplinary and criminal charges.

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“The other inmates housed in the unit were put in a bad situation because of the behavior of a few instigators. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the incident ended peacefully,” said Sheriff Dix. “There could not have been a better outcome.”

Sheriff’s office investigators are continuing to review video to determine if any others were involved and the cause of the incident.