FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                       

July 29, 2020 Contact: Karen Pojmann Communications Director Office: 573-522-1118 Cell: 573-690-7539 karen.pojmann@doc.mo.gov

No injuries reported after unrest at Pacific prison

A disturbance occurred the evening of Tuesday, July 28, at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (MECC) in Pacific, Missouri. Around 5 p.m., after two offenders causing a disruption were restrained, residents of a housing wing attempted to create a barrier, preventing additional staff from responding. The crowd of offenders eventually dispersed and returned to their housing unit, where they refused to comply with staff instructions and declined to enter their cells. The unrest spread to three other housing wings, where some offenders engaged in fights with one another or damaged property. Trained Corrections Emergency Response Teams (CERT) deployed from Farmington Correctional Center and Eastern Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center assisted MECC CERT members in returning offenders to their cells. Order had been restored by 12 a.m. with no staff or offender injuries. 

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