Gestapo Tactics

Since arriving in prison, some 2 ½ years ago, I've been hearing horror stories about the Tactical Support Unit (TSU). They are the "special teams" who would come in if there's some kind of prison riot or other dangerous situation. On the yard they are referred to as the "Ninja Turtles" or "Storm Troopers". After an experience with them on our yard, I call them the Gestapo. Typically, prison stories tend to be highly exaggerated, but in the case of the Gestapo, they didn't come close to the reality.


Our yard was on "hard lockdown" for two days so that the Turtles could search each of the 32 runs on the yard. A hard lockdown means meals are brought to us and any essential movement is escorted by officers. As a worker on another yard, I usually get to miss out on such experiences, but a few weeks ago I was not so lucky.

The Storm Troopers struck quickly and entered the run in full force shouting out orders and expletives. "Alright you f*****s, down to boxers and t-shirts and line up with heads down. Anyone looking around will be going to the f*****g medic!" Scare tactics for sure, so I thought, then they grabbed a guy and dragged him off the run and outside. "Somebody always wants to be a f*****g hero!" I hadn't seen or heard the victim do anything. Another inmate who looked up so see what was happening was also dragged out with excessive force.

The rest of us were strip-searched and marched out to the Day Room. "Chin to chest, hands behind our backs." We were packed together cross-legged, hands behind our backs. On the floor near where I was sitting was an honest-to-god turd -- I assume from someone who had sat there before us and was either scared or just unable to hold it. We sat that way, on hard concrete, for about an hour. When people tried to shift their bodies due to discomfort, they were reproached forcefully.

I, myself, was literally sweating due to the pain, even though I regularly meditate in a similar position. It was agony. Finally, we were allowed back in and it looked like a hurricane had come through the run.

The real horror of the situation was not revealed until lockdown was over and we started communicating. Between 40 to 100 inmates had been treated for medical issues from the beatings in every run. The victims' transgressions were "looking around," "asking a question," or other imagined offenses. One man with a prosthetic leg was beaten for not moving quickly enough. An older man with a blood disease had severe bruising all over his body.

This was apparently far more extreme than anything that even long-timers had ever seen. Several of the "regular" corrections officers wrote up reports due to the excessive brutality. There is supposedly an investigation underway, but it is unlikely that anything significant will come of it. The administration has been issuing disciplinary tickets to inmates who have complained.

What's really incredible is that this happened on two consecutive days, so even after the administration learned what had transpired on Day 1, it happened again on Day 2.

I wonder what type of person can act in such a way. While not all of The Turtles were as aggressive, not one did or said anything to prevent the horrors. I think about how -- in Nazi Germany -- huge segments of the population committed horrible crimes while others allowed it to happen. This "follower" mentality is a terrible and powerful force. And we are considered the criminals! Nobody deserves such abuse.