Prison Emergency Training Drill Looked Like The Real Deal

By Andrew Gorosko

A state police spotter airplane flew about 1,000 feet above Fairfield Hills, as bloodhounds, German shepherds, and their trailing handlers scattered across the terrain seeking the scents of four inmates who had “escaped” from the nearby Garner Correctional Institution, as part of a large-scale emergency training drill held Wednesday in and near the high security prison on Nunnawauk Road.

State Department of Correction (DOC) personnel, state police, and town police joined forces in the exercise intended to simulate for training purposes a variety of emergency situations that could occur at the prison.

Realism was the watchword at the training drill, with state police closing down the intersections leading to Garner and barring public access to the prison area while the drill was underway.

The LifeStar helicopter made a landing and takeoff at Garner’s helipad in a simulated patient transport.

During the drill, participants employed realistic radio communications in simulating the emergency.

The about 75 people who participated in the event had very limited information about what would unfold during the training exercise in order to test their responses to unforeseen situations.

Following the drill, Garner Warden Giovanny Gomez explained that the exercise included a simulated fight within the prison followed by a hostage-taking situation. Also, four inmates “escaped” from the prison during the training exercise, he said.

No actual inmates participated in the role-playing event intended to test the coordination, radio communications, and command capabilities of the three organizations working together.

State Police Major Pete Warren said state police responded to Garner to help “stabilize” the situation after learning of the “disturbance” there. Both state police and Newtown police worked with the DOC in coordinating the tracking and apprehension of the four “escapees” during the exercise, he said.

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe said that besides publicizing the prison emergency training drill in advance through the press, police notified nearby schools that a drill would be underway to allay any public fears that might arise due to large numbers of police responding to Garner for the event. About 40 police vehicles staged for the drill at the Cochran House parking lot at Fairfield Hills.

Following the joint drill, those involved discussed how the operation was executed, identifying aspects of the exercise that went well, and areas where performance could be improved. Such training well prepares those who would respond to an actual emergency at the prison, he said. “We interacted and supported each other very well,” Major Warren said.

The major termed the 3½-hour event “an exercise in decisionmaking.”

Chief Kehoe said that drill participants were told little in advance about what they would encounter during the training exercise to specifically test their responses to emergencies.

Of the training exercise, which was the first of its type at Garner and one of the largest events of its kind ever conducted in the state, Warden Gomez said, “I would say that it was very good. All in all, I’m very pleased.” The drill will aid new supervisory personnel at Garner prepare for potential prison emergencies, he said.

Emergency service personnel need to stay trained and stay focused on potential emergencies that could occur, Major Warren said. The drill had been in the planning stages for more a month. “Training needs to be as realistic as possible,” he said.

Newtown residents should feel safe in the knowledge that such contingency training for prison emergencies occurs, Chief Kehoe said.

Garner, which opened in November 1992, typically houses between 600 and 700 male inmates. The prison has a Level 4 security rating in the state prison system, in which the highest security rating is Level 5. Since last spring, the prison has become the prime facility in the state prison system for inmates with psychiatric disorders.