20 Juvenile Inmates Break Out During ‘Uprising’ Inside Louisiana Facility

According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, nearly 20 inmates at a Louisiana juvenile detention center staged an “uprising” inside the facility’s perimeter last Thursday night, provoking a SWAT reaction.

During the incident, inmates were able to gain “control of areas inside the facility,” injuring one Office of Juvenile Justice employee and two juveniles.

“Around 9:48 pm, we received word that there was a disturbance inside the facility,” the sheriff’s department said. “Around 20 youths escaped their housing areas and took control of areas inside the facility. None were able to escape the grounds. Around 40-50 deputies from our Patrol Division and Crisis Management Unit (SWAT) responded and were able to secure the facility by about midnight. The youths were returned to the custody of the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ), the state agency that operates the facility.”

The incident is the facility’s latest security breach, occurring only hours after five inmates fled through a hole in the bathroom ceiling early Thursday morning – one of whom was still at large as of Friday morning.

“There was a staffing issue,” said State Senator Pat Connick, R-Marrero. “Someone was not paying attention. They got out of the gate, got out of the facility.”

He said the facility should be shut down.

“Keep in mind these aren’t just juvenile offenders, these are violent juvenile offenders: armed robbers, murderers, rapists, and this facility is a minimum-security facility,” said Jefferson Parish Councilman Deano Bonano. “It wasn’t designed for this.”

Gov. John Bel Edwards “knows that this is a problem. Staffing is a major problem. The parole officers, I understand, are being brought into the jail to guard the inmates instead of being on the streets doing their work as parole officers,” said Connick.