DARTMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - The Bristol County sheriff says he expects charges to be filed after a clash between ICE detainees and corrections officers over coronavirus testing, but a congressman and outside observers are calling for an independent investigation into the confrontation.
Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said inmates caused $25,000 to the Dartmouth detention facility Friday night after complaining of coronavirus symptoms but refusing to be tested. The detainees allegedly rushed corrections officers and became violent, and three detainees were hospitalized after the altercation.
“They obviously had done pretty much everything they could do to blockade the doors … they pretty much destroyed the inside,” Hodgson said. “One or two tried to fight, they were quickly restrained.”
A reverend who spoke with a detainee Friday said the detainees were fearful of being moved during testing, and an attorney who visited detainees Saturday said they told her Hodgson shoved an inmate.
“One of the detainees used a phone to speak to someone about what was going on and Sheriff Hodgson rushed across the room, pulled the phone from him, and pushed him into a wall,” said Kelly Morgan.
Congressman Joe Kennedy III called for an independent investigation into the fight.
“Given the differing recitations of what happened, I believe the only way to get to a clear understanding as to what transpired is to have that full independent investigation,” Kennedy said a press conference.
Hodgson said the fight on Friday was caught on video and footage would be part of the investigation. He said he expected charges against the detainees, and that health protocols at the facility have to be followed.
“They have to be taken out of this facility immediately because we don’t want anyone contaminated here,” Hodgson said. “What they want, I don’t care when it comes to protecting the other detainees and the people that work here.”
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