Drill simulates Silverdale gang fight

Inmates at the Silverdale Detention Center took over a pavilion in the recreation yard Friday morning, hanging white sheets to disguise their activities and taking two corrections officers hostage.

They taunted police and special operations team members, calling them "rent-a-cops" and shouting obscenities.

Gunshots and smoke screens stunned the group into silence -- momentarily. But before long, the catcalls and shouts resumed, mixed with the ringing of a hostage negotiation phone.

But none of it was real.

The seemingly tense events were part of Silverdale's annual large-scale simulation drill, giving law enforcement officers, emergency responders and medical personnel a chance to practice responding to a dramaticized real-life problem.

"A lot of this we didn't try to plan, because you don't get the same benefits if it's scripted," said Silverdale Public Information Officer Elijah Light.

After the drill, law enforcement responders sat down to evaluate what went right and what could have gone better. Silverdale conducts large-scale drills annually, but it hosts smaller drills at least monthly, Mr. Light said.

The drill began with two rival gangs who began fighting in the recreation yard. One gang had several inmates who were injured, including a woman with a knife in her chest.

The inmate ringleader, portrayed by a Silverdale corrections officer, brought out one of the hostage officers with a knife to her neck.

"Y'all gonna listen now," he shouted.

Law enforcement personnel, including members of Silverdale's special operations team and the Chattanooga Police Department's hostage negotiation team, responded to the scene, fired several gunshots and created smoke screens.

"When I said smoke, I meant cigarettes, not that kind of smoke," the ringleader shouted.

Also on the inmates' list of demands: beer, marijuana, better food, and steak and potatoes. After receiving three bottles of water, the inmates released one of the hostages.

Medical personnel evacuated injured inmates, and a handful of gang members surrendered, exiting the yard on their knees through a fence. Their surrender elicited calls of "sellouts," among other more obscene terms.

Students from Virginia College, many in the criminal justice program there, participated as actors in the drill.

Such events allow personnel to practice responding to critical situations, but they also benefit students, said Richard Dyer, director of criminal justice programs for Virginia College.

"A lot of our students want to go out and work for a corrections department," he said. "They can see what goes on inside a corrections facility."

BY THE NUMBERS

* 1,062 -- Inmate capacity at Silverdale Detention Center

* 950 -- Average daily inmate population

* 75 to 90 -- Average number of days for inmates

Source: Silverdale Detention Center