Hundreds of prisoners riot in Franklin County

Hundreds of inmates rioted Thursday night at the Franklin Correctional Institution in Carrabelle, causing extensive damage and forcing the relocation of prisoners to other state facilities.

No correctional officers or inmates were injured, and there were no escapes, said Alberto Moscoso, spokesman for the Florida Department of Corrections.

“It was a major disturbance,” Moscoso told the Tallahassee Democrat. “The damage was extensive. There were no injuries that required any kind of medical attention or treatment.”

An estimated 200 to 300 inmates of various security classifications were involved in the disturbance, he said. None of the inmates are considered maximum security.

“Utilizing a trained tactical response, department staff quickly and effectively quelled the situation,” the agency said in a written release. "Due in no small part to the judgment and professionalism of the responding officers, there were no serious injuries to either inmates or employees.”

The department's Office of Inspector General is investigating both the cause of the disturbance and the prison staff’s response to it.

“It was a very dynamic mixture of reasons,” Moscoso said. “That’s going to be one of the primary aims of the investigation — determining the cause."

The prison, located on Highway 67 southwest of Tallahassee, houses a maximum of 1,346 inmates — all men — in six open-bay dorms, similar to military barracks with rows of bunks, and two dorms with cells. The prison's website showed an inmate population of 1,048 as of Saturday.

"There haven't been any criminal charges as of yet, but inmates will be receiving disciplinary reports" documenting violations of prison rules, Moscoso said.

The prison is a major Franklin County employer, with a staff of about 300, according to 2013 figures on the facility's website.

Agency officials said repairs will be necessary before any of the relocated prisoners can be returned. A timetable was not immediately clear.

Moscoso said the FDC will have a thorough "after action review."

"The department takes these events very, very seriously," he said. "And anytime anything like this happens, we're going to devote the necessary resources to learn from it and respond as well as we can in the future."

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.