A 33-year-old convicted killer is dead after a riot broke out in Stony Mountain Institution’s exercise yard Monday evening. Corrections offi
I'm inserting some of my own comments on a story with not a lot of information available, except that provided by a correctional officer - highly motivated to tell a very partial and anti-prisoner narrative. I am no expert - I've spoken very informally and casually to people who have done time or worked at Stony Mountain Penitentiary, but that's it. I await further information, or interviews with inmates or even staff outside the security apparatus about this incident.
From the Winnipeg Free Press, July 19, 2023:
"...a riot broke out in Stony Mountain Institution's exercise yard Monday. Corrections officers used live ammunition to break up the brawl; another inmate was sent to hospital with a gunshot wound. Colton Patchinose, 33, was pronounced dead shortly after RCMP officers from the Stonewall detachment arrived at the federal prison north of Winnipeg at 6:35 p.m. to help deal with the "large fight" that involved several "edged weapons." The prairie region president of the union that represents corrections officers said the officers fired multiple rounds as warning shots to try to quell the chaos that broke out before 6:30 p.m., striking an inmate, who remains in hospital. "There was an outright riot," Union of Canadian Correctional Officers [UCCO] official James Bloomfield told the Free Press Tuesday. Bloomfield said an estimated 30 inmates were directly involved in the brawl, using homemade knives and spikes and blunt force weapons and "anything they could grab a hold of in that yard" to fight each other. There was warning shots that were fired. That is not something that we do very often and it got to a point where there were "several warning shots fired," he said. "We did deploy a lot of pepper spray last night, as well, to try to get that group under control and get it all back to a safe place today." About 100 inmates were in the yard at the time, Bloomfield said.
[There is very clearly a lot more going on then the UCCO president is capable of articulating or understanding - that there was a need the night BEFORE this event to spray ranges in pepper spray raises some questions to me.]
...
"Definitely gang violence - that's what this is about, it is fuelled by the drug trade within the institution. This is what that results in, it is one of the most violent institutions in this country," he said. The union has been trying to push federal corrections officials to address violence and the drug trade in the prison but have not had much luck, he said.
['Gangs' in prison have a bunch of overlapping identifies and reasons for formation - including the tendency of CSC itself to identify any three individuals in an organization or group outside their sanction as a security threat group. The extent to which these gangs are connected to street gangs or organized crime in Winnipeg or elsewhere is hard to gauge from press statements. I'm sure it is a complicated issue. The gangs also serve as a way of organizing and controlling the flow of contraband into the prison, often with outside help. The Union head makes a big deal of 'throw-overs' - that is, contraband being thrown over the perimeter - though corrupt staff are also a major conduit as well as family visits. What drugs are being traded is left obscure as is the volume of this trade.]
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From the CBC article, July 19, 2023:
"No correctional officers were physically injured but "as you can imagine, there's definitely mental health injuries that occur over the next day or two for witnessing a murder or for the stabbings that occurred," Bloomfield said. "That's a very difficult situation to respond to, to deal with, to see. So over the next few days we'll be monitoring the staff and looking for symptoms and signs of stress injuries and mental health injuries."
[Again, a man died and many other prisoners were injured - their concerns and undoubtedly the desire of many uninvolved in this incident for safety and security don't really matter in this framing of the event. 'Trauma' as a way for the caretakers of power to avoid their own responsibility for causing it themselves, or the broader issues that bring violence to their door, is a really growing trend I've noticed...]
The incident was another example of a violent and unpredictable work environment for staff at the prison, which is being fuelled by gang activity and drugs, Bloomfield said. "There has been a lot of violent activity at Stony Mountain for a very long time. We have a huge amount of drugs within that institution," he said. "It is one of the highest throw-over institutions in the country, which means people throwing drugs over the fences into the institution." Bloomfield also suggested there are few to no repercussions for inmates who are involved in violent behaviour, which allows it to escalate. "The service has refused to address any behavioural concerns … for a very long time. It's almost encouragement," he said.
[What the Union's demands are I can only imagine. At other institutions like Millhaven, security and safety for correctional staff means they have nearly complete control of movement throughout the institution, in defiance of the needs or planning of other departments (like classification, education, inmate committee...) to the point that it is detrimental to operations or the individual needs of inmates. Also, Stony Mountain has a very white guard force with a large Indigenous prisoner population, which can't help matters and might explain a great deal...]