Tennessee prison riot contained after several hours; 3 inmates and 1 guard injured

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Inmates at a Tennessee prison destroyed property, compromised security cameras and set a few fires during a riot that took several hours to contain and caused minor injuries to three inmates and one guard, the facility’s private operator said.

On Sunday evening, a large group of inmates at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center from several housing units left their cells and accessed an inner yard, becoming “disruptive and confrontational,” according to CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin. The prison in Hartsville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Nashville, is the subject of an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation.

One correctional officer was assaulted and released from the hospital. Three inmates were being treated for minor injuries, Gustin said.

The prison’s staff used chemical agents on the inmates, who were secured by early Monday morning. They did not reach the perimeter and state troopers and local law enforcement officers were positioned outside the facility. The Tennessee Highway Patrol deployed about 75 troopers and the agency remained on site overnight until “every prisoner had been accounted for,” Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security spokesperson Jason Pack said.

The prison remained on lockdown while CoreCivic and the Tennessee Department of Correction investigate the riot, Gustin said.

The incident followed an assault by two Trousdale inmates Saturday that injured a correctional officer who remains at the hospital, Gustin said.

Last August, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into the Trousdale prison after years of “reports of physical assaults, sexual assaults, murders and unchecked flow of contraband and severe staffing shortages,” according to then-U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis. The department confirmed Monday the investigation remains ongoing.

Tennessee’s corrections agency has fined CoreCivic $37.7 million across four prisons since 2016, including for understaffing violations. Records obtained by The Associated Press also show the company has spent more than $4.4 million to settle about 80 lawsuits and out-of-court complaints alleging mistreatment — including at least 22 inmate deaths — at four Tennessee prisons and two jails since 2016.

The state comptroller released scathing audits in 2017, 2020 and 2023.

The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company has defended itself by pointing to industry-wide problems with hiring and keeping workers. CoreCivic has said it offers hiring incentives and strategically backfills with workers from other facilities nationally.

Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s administration has stood by CoreCivic.

However, the Republican-led Legislature this year showed its concern by unanimously passing a bill that would move 10% of inmates out of a private prison each time the annual death rate is twice as high as a comparable state-run facility. Lee signed the legislation. Department of Correction spokesperson Sarah Gallagher said the agency is developing a procedure to calculate and report the death rate for 2025 under the new law.

The legislation was spurred by the advocacy of Tim Leeper, a roofing businessman who has attended the same local Rotary Club as the two Republicans who ultimately sponsored the bill, Rep. Clark Boyd and Sen. Mark Pody. Leeper’s son Kylan was an inmate at Trousdale when he died of a fentanyl overdose. His family has sued CoreCivic over his death.