One guard choked, another's nose broken in weekend of disturbances at Lincoln Hills juvenile prison

MADISON – A string of disturbances erupted at the state’s juvenile prison over two days in September, just weeks after a court-ordered monitor toured the facility and gave it high marks.

One Lincoln Hills School for Boys inmate is facing charges for wrapping his hand around a guard’s neck, according to state officials. Another guard had his nose broken and others suffered knee and shoulder injuries.

On Sept. 27, three or four inmates climbed into a ceiling area at the juvenile prison north of Wausau and shattered lights. They were talked down after the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department was called. The next day, a tactical unit from an adult prison was sent to Lincoln Hills to help keep order, according to state officials.

In all, 26 inmates were involved in five incidents over the two days. 

The melees underscore the ongoing challenges state officials face as they try to overhaul the long-troubled juvenile prison that has been the subject of multiple lawsuits. 

The Department of Corrections released details about the September incidents on Friday, a day after the court-ordered report was filed that found substantial improvements at Lincoln Hills. 

“I believe we’re certainly on the right road,” Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr said in an interview. “We still have a ways to go. I’m not dancing in the end zone.”

Inmates in 2018 won a lawsuit over conditions at the prison. A federal judge ordered the state to phase out the use of pepper spray and dramatically reduce the use of solitary confinement and handcuffs. 

Last month’s incidents occurred a week after all pepper spray was removed from Lincoln Hills.

Ron Hermes, the state’s juvenile corrections administrator, said it was possible inmates acted up in part to test boundaries after pepper spray had been removed, but stressed that there is no way to know for sure.

In one incident, an inmate standing on a table or other object reached down and put his hand around the throat of a guard, Hermes said.

The inmate was charged criminally and is now being held in the Lincoln County Jail.

State officials did not release the inmate's name, but jail and court records show Avery Friedrich, 20, of Milwaukee was arrested Sept. 27 and charged Sept. 30 in Lincoln County Circuit Court with strangulation, a felony.  

Other guards were injured as they tried to break up fights. Some inmates had to be treated for cuts and abrasions at the prison, but none had to be taken to the hospital, Hermes said.

Inmates at Lincoln Hills are housed in cottages in groups of a dozen or two. The incidents occurred at three cottages the first day and two cottages the next day. Other cottages at the prison were unaffected by the disturbances, Hermes said. 

The largest incident involved 10 inmates at Krueger Cottage, which houses inmates who have acted up in the past. 

Prison officials called the sheriff’s department the first day in part to help get inmates out from a ceiling area, where they were breaking lights, Hermes said. Sheriff’s officials raised the prospect of using force to get them down, but Lincoln Hills Superintendent Jason Benzel asked them not to do that and officials were able to persuade the inmates to come down, Hermes said.

Help from staff at adult prisons

The next day, Lincoln Hills got help from a team of about a dozen officers from Stanley Correctional Institution, an adult prison 90 miles west of Lincoln Hills. That team beefed up Lincoln Hills’ regular staff, helping them to keep order. 

A similar team from Green Bay Correctional Institution came over the weekend of Oct. 5 to make sure Lincoln Hills had enough staff, Hermes said. Teams will continue to be brought in from adult prisons through mid-November, he said.

Lincoln Hills and Wisconsin's adult prisons have struggled with staff shortages for years. The situation has improved in recent months at Lincoln Hills — in part because of a temporary $5-per-hour raise for workers there — but staffing remains a challenge on weekends, Hermes said.

The state plans to close the prison in 2021 but hasn't finalized where inmates will be held at that point. The state plans to build new, smaller facilities, some run by the state and some run by counties.

Judge halted solitary confinements

For years, Lincoln Hills officials would put inmates in solitary confinement, sometimes for weeks or months at a time, when they got in fights or caused disturbances. U.S. District Judge James Peterson found that practice to violate the inmates' constitutional rights and ordered an end to it as part of the lawsuit brought by inmates. 

Now, inmates cannot be held in solitary confinement as a form of punishment, though they can be isolated for short periods when they are considered to be threats to themselves or others. 

When inmates act out now, they lose privileges — such as additional time out of their cells — and are given extra treatment, said Lance Horozewski, the state's assistant administrator of juvenile corrections.

"It's a balanced approach," Horozewski said. "Kids definitely need to be held accountable and we will continue to hold them accountable but we will parallel that with continued treatment because we know that's what the research shows as having the best outcomes to reduce future recidivism for kids." 

"What we do know is overly punitive doesn't change behavior."

As part of the court decision on Lincoln Hills, independent expert Teresa Abreu is monitoring conditions at the prison. She visited the facility Sep. 13-15 — before the latest incidents — and filed a report Thursday that said conditions continue to improve.

Karyn Rotker, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin who represents the inmates, said conditions at Lincoln Hills have improved despite the latest round of trouble.  

"I do think there have been a number of positive developments in recent months," she said. "Unfortunately, it's also true that progress isn't always linear." 

Hermes said he's focused on providing more programming for inmates and providing staff with additional training to help them de-escalate tensions without having to physically intervene. Guards are receptive to the new, trauma-informed approach the prison has been rolling out, he said. 

“I think people are all in on this," he said.

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.