Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey opened an investigation into a Friday night incident at the Bristol County House of Correction involving immigrant detainees and Sheriff Thomas Hodgson.
The Attorney General’s office requested surveillance footage and other records from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, in which the sheriff says he was rushed by detainees. Advocates who spoke with detainees say they were assaulted by correction officers, including Hodgson.
Healey’s office reached out to the office, as well as advocates who are in touch with the detainees, to get more information.
“Reports about the incident at Bristol County jail are very concerning," Healey said in a statement. “My office has opened an investigation to get more details about what happened and to ensure public health and safety at this facility.”
The Bristol County jail made national headlines last week as conflicting stories circulated about what occurred in the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center in North Dartmouth. Hodgson said that detainees, who showed COVID-19 symptoms but refused to get tested, rushed him and correction officers. He accused them of trashing the unit, causing $25,000 in damage.
Three detainees were hospitalized after the incident. One had symptoms of a panic attack, another had a pre-existing medical condition and a third had a medical incident after being removed from the unit, according to a news release from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office.
Advocates who spoke with detainees said they sought testing but refused to be transferred out of their unit to be tested because they feared they would be exposed to COVID-19 in the process. Advocates say detainees told them that sheriff and correction officers assaulted them and pepper sprayed them.
“In no moment did anyone refuse to be tested for COVID-19. Rather they refused to be tested in a way that exposed them to COVID-19,” said Vanesa Suarez, an organizer for the Connecticut Bail Fund.
Hodgson calls the accounts of immigration advocates untrue. He said the detainees were told to act out by advocates.
“These are the same people who have been calling their attorneys, advocate groups, saying that they need to be released because they’re going to get contaminated and it’s dangerous in here," he said during a news conference on Saturday.
The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office is also the subject of a class-action lawsuit in which attorneys are calling for the release of immigrant detainees, arguing they are all at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because they are kept in a congregate setting.
Hodgson tweeted Tuesday afternoon that the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General plans to investigate the incident. “I’m looking forward to the results of the final report," he wrote.
When asked about the incident, Gov. Charlie Baker cautioned against drawing conclusions at this point.
“What I would say is there is a whole series of back and forth with respect to what happened there, and people need to be careful about drawing conclusions one way or another,” he said during a news conference Monday afternoon.
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