On Monday night November 21, around 7:00 p.m., the Dodge-Wilcox 911 Center received an emergency request of mutual aid from the Telfair-Wheeler 911 Center due to a riot at the Telfair County State Prison located in Helena. The 911 centers relayed that the Telfair County Sheriff and Helena Police Chief were requesting “all available” officers and resources to immediately respond. Dodge County sheriff’s deputies along with officers from the Eastman Police Department responded to the call for help.
The first responding deputies arrived to find several inmates on the yard just inside of the perimeter fence being guarded by a state trooper with a rifle. Dodge County law enforcement officers set up in intervals on the perimeter fence of the prison with shotguns and rifles. Shortly after 10:00 p.m., outside law enforcement officers and non Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) personnel were released after the adequate DOC personnel arrived and all inmates had been secured. There were no incidents or injuries involving any Dodge County law enforcement officers.
However, there were injuries which occurred inside the prison. Responding officers stated that they witnessed at least two dormitories at the prison being “gassed” prior to the perimeter officers being released. Responding officers stated that multiple ambulances entered and left the prison during the time they were on scene.
Georgia Department of Corrections Officials were still investigating the incident as of press time. The Telfair State Prison is a “maximum security” facility and houses nearly twelve hundred (1,200) inmates.
