Incident at York County Jail draws quick response

The York County Jail in Alfred (Courtesy image)

ALFRED, Maine - Some 30 inmates at the York County Jail staged a protest on Wednesday night prompting a response from patrol deputies and other law enforcement after which prisoners quickly stood down.

The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. when about 30 male inmates from the largest housing unit refused to return to their cells and were passively non-compliant.

The inmates were upset about recent operational changes at the jail. The unit in which the disturbance occurred has a capacity of 76 inmates.

According to a press release from York County Sheriff Bill King, the jail supervisor called for all available jail personnel to respond to monitor the situation, while the Sanford Regional Communications Center was asked to notify the York County Sheriff's Office Patrol Supervisor.

When the SRCC was contacted, the incident was mischaracterized as a "riot" which was communicated via radio to the patrol supervisor. As a result, several patrol deputies as well as other area law enforcement officers responded.

Jail personnel were able to direct the inmates to return to their cells. All inmates were locked in at 9:20 p.m. An investigation will be conducted and inmates who are identified as the instigators will face administrative sanctions.