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Riots, escapes and pepper spray: Coronavirus hits juvenile centers

FILE - In this July 8, 2010 file photo, teenagers head toward the gym at Caddo Juvenile Detention Center in Shreveport, La. Fear and frustration is raging as fast as the coronavirus in some juvenile detention centers, with riots and escapes reported in hotspot facilities such as New York and Louisiana. (Val Horvath/The Shreveport Times via AP, File)
FILE - In this July 8, 2010 file photo, teenagers head toward the gym at Caddo Juvenile Detention Center in Shreveport, La. Fear and frustration is raging as fast as the coronavirus in some juvenile detention centers, with riots and escapes reported in hotspot facilities such as New York and Louisiana. (Val Horvath/The Shreveport Times via AP, File) FILE - In this July 8, 2010 file photo, teenagers head toward the gym at Caddo Juvenile Detention Center in Shreveport, La. Fear and frustration is raging as fast as the coronavirus in some juvenile detention centers, with riots and escapes reported in hotspot facilities such as New York and Louisiana. (Val Horvath/The Shreveport Times via AP, File)

By MARGIE MASON and ROBIN McDOWELL / Associated Press 10 min read

Nicole Hingle wasn’t surprised when the call came. Frustrations had been building inside juvenile detention centers nationwide as the number of coronavirus cases continued to climb. Now, her 17-year-old son Jace, was on the phone telling her around 40 kids had rioted at his facility in Louisiana – the same state where more than a dozen youths escaped during two breakouts at another site this month.

Hingle said her son described whirring helicopters above the Bridge City facility just outside New Orleans. Juveniles kicked down their doors, a SWAT team swarmed in, kids were pepper-sprayed and a staffer was injured during the melee.

“It’s a real mess,” the teen told his mother. “Everything is destroyed.”

Due to coronavirus lockdown measures, it’s been more than two months since Hingle has been able to visit her son. She has accused administrators of keeping her in the dark, and said she was growing increasingly upset by the lack of a clear plan to protect or release those held inside. Ten youths have tested positive at Bridge City in recent weeks.

“This could be life or death for my child,” said Hingle, adding that her son was among a group transferred to the Acadiana Center for Youth after the brawl, where they were pepper-sprayed twice over the weekend by parole officers brought in to help due to short staffing.