RI prisoners’ families demanding investigation of alleged officer assault of inmates

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Some families of prisoners in the Rhode Island Department of Corrections system plan to file a complaint with the attorney general’s office.

The families are accusing officers of violent retaliation to a protest by the prisoners.

The families claim on June 6, more than a dozen prisoners at the intake service center’s segregation unit refused their breakfast in response to being denied their daily one hour of out-of-cell time for four days straight.

The families accuse officers in the unit of denying their lunchtime meals in response.

They’re also claiming officers used pepper spray on the prisoners in their cells and assaulted them.

Now those families will join the group “Direct Action for Rights and Equality,” and will file a formal complaint Thursday.

The prisoners’ families listed three “demands” of RIDOC, including an investigation of the incident, accountability for those involved if found liable and enforcement of out-of-cell time right.

We have reached out to the state department of corrections for a statement on the allegation, and will update you when we learn more.