Inmate families describe ‘crisis’ at prison, National Guard called in

DEER LODGE, MT – A broken water pipe at Montana State Prison has limited water for prisoners and forced mobilization of the state’s National Guard in an issue inmates’ families are calling a crisis, according to the Department of Corrections and family members of people who are incarcerated.

“We haven’t had any showers since Thursday or even been able to wash our hands,” said Josh McKnight, an inmate, in a phone call late Sunday afternoon with the Daily Montanan.

Sunday, Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin said through a spokesperson the department was managing the situation.

“The Montana Department of Corrections continues to work to maintain public safety for and provide resources to inmates at the Montana State Prison,” Gootkin said in an email.

The state’s Department of Corrections responded to a “water pipe break” at the Deer Lodge facility on Friday, an Oct. 10 press release from the agency said. The break was discovered at 6 a.m. and prisoners were notified about 30 minutes later, agency spokesperson Alex Klapmeier said in an email.

“The break occurred in the pipe carrying water from the well house to the main water tank, which supplies water to the secure compound,” the state press release said. “Sletten Construction is assisting the department in repair efforts by providing additional excavation equipment. This water outage affected the secure compound at MSP; the dairy and Work and Reentry Center were not impacted.”

On Sunday, Montana State Prison’s population was 1,610, according to a Department of Corrections database. Its capacity is 1,551.

The source of the leak has not been found. Once it is found, agency staff expect it to take 24 hours to repair. Following that, the water will need to be tested by the Department of Environmental Quality before it can be used.

“The department continues to search diligently for the source of the leak and is exhausting all resources to find it,” Klapmeier wrote on Sunday evening. “Today, a water leak detection and mapping consultant out of Missoula was at the facility working to locate the leak.”

The news release said several agencies had come to assist, including the Montana National Guard, which delivered 15,000 gallons of water from Deer Lodge. The executive order to mobilize the Guard was signed on Friday by Gov. Greg Gianforte, Klapmeier said. The state also reported 30,000 water bottles were delivered on Friday.

“The Department is working as quickly as possible to find the break and restore all services to Montana State Prison,” DOC Director Gootkin said in a Saturday news release. “We’re thankful for the long hours staff have already put in and to our partners who have stepped up to help out.”

Probation and parole officers from Missoula and Helena are also assisting with security at the facility. Klapmeier said correctional offers were not calling out of work and that they were there to help out the National Guard.

“The department has had a positive response from officers coming in this weekend to assist with the situation,” Klapmeier said in an email. “As one DOC, the department utilizes different personnel groups in our public safety division to assist each one another. Probation and Parole Officers are being used to help with additional security duties like escorting the Montana National Guard tankers to the MSP main water tank on the property.”

Additionally, the state said 50 portable toilets were delivered to MSP on Friday and that they were “in the process” of ordering showers. The state release also said meals, inmate services and recreation had not been impacted.

However, McKnight told the Daily Montanan inmates have not been able to shower since Thursday, and they have been given just six bottles of water a day for all of their needs, including to drink and to clean themselves.

McKnight also said some people who are incarcerated and have medical issues need more fluids than they have access to.

He said people who use wheelchairs have difficulties using the portable toilets, and one inmate has been declining food as a result.

Klapmeier said Sunday there are 10 ADA accessible portable bathrooms out of the 78 total portable bathrooms on site. Those bathrooms are being pumped once per day, according to the DOC.

McKnight said the man who declined food had open sores that were healing but ripped open after trying to use a portable toilet that didn’t accommodate a chair he needs to use over the toilet seat.

He said the prison already is a breeding ground for conditions such as hepatitis, and overflowing toilets inside have exacerbated the problem.

“It’s super unsanitary,” McKnight said. “For staff and inmates alike, it is a dangerous situation.”

Amanda McKnight, who runs a Facebook page called 406 Revolutionized, said her visit was canceled on Saturday, but she learned about it first from her husband, not the Department of Corrections.

Josh McKnight said an agency official told the inmates that families didn’t need to see the “filth” at the facility, and visitation had been canceled out of “respect for families.”

He said corrections officers are doing their best to try to make sure people stay level-headed, but the situation is difficult for them too.

“I don’t think they want to be here either,” McKnight said. He said one officer told him, “They’re not going to want the public to see this.”

Amanda McKnight said her husband told her the handwashing stations have run out of water, and the portable toilets have been vandalized or are overflowing because there are not enough toilets to meet the use.

“Hand washing stations do rely on water, and if they are running out of water inmates are encouraged to contact correctional officers at their unit so they can be refilled,” Klapmeier wrote in an email. “When staff is notified, the hand washing stations are filled.”

Amanda McKnight also said people who are incarcerated have not been able to go to the gym, and sewage at one point had backed up in the basement of the kitchen. Klapmeier said sewage was not backing up into the kitchen, but there had been a problem there.”

“There was an issue with water and food waste that backed up in the basement of the low side kitchen basement, but it was not sewage,” Klapmeier said. “It was not related to the current issue, and it was cleaned up.”

On the gym issue, staffing is being “surged” to critical needs.

“Inmates on the high side had gym access today,” Klapmeier said in a release. “The DOC is doing its best to offer regular inmate activities as staffing allows.”

In a follow-up call later Sunday, Amanda McKnight said her husband told her the prison had offered five-minute showers, but she said her husband reported water was trickling down the wall, and there was not enough pressure for a shower.

Her husband told her inmates were told bacteria was not found in the water and it was available for limited use but not consumption, Amanda McKnight said.

Josh McKnight said people in the prison are on edge because they have not been able to take showers and get clean, the prison stinks, and drinking water has been limited.

“It’s a bad situation for a lot of people here right now,” McKnight said.

Kenzie Lincoln, whose husband, Bryce Baltezar, is currently at the facility, said inmates are not currently allowed to do laundry nor are they allowed any outside time. Lincoln has spoken with her husband via phone for a few minutes at a time over the last few days, she said. She’s also a member of support groups for those with family members incarcerated at the facility.

Lincoln, as well as other family members of those incarcerated, have painted a desperate picture for inmates over the past several days. Lincoln told the Daily Montanan that prisoners had been warned Wednesday evening that water may become an issue and to fill up containers. Inmates were later told not to drink that water, she said.

Thursday brought sanitation issues, she said. Inmates were warned that flushing the toilets could make the water run out faster, Lincoln said.

“The toilets were getting clogged, they weren’t flushing, and they were actually forcing inmates, basically to pee and poop in water bottles and plastic bags,” Lincoln said.

Phone service has been cut to 10 minutes, she added, and said an in-person visit with her husband was abruptly canceled as she was on the way to the prison on Friday. Inmates are also allowed one bottle of water per meal, Lincoln said.

Bathrooms were cleaned and locked on Sunday morning, she added. Klapmeier said that wasn’t true.

“Bathrooms in the units are not locked and portable toilets are not locked,” Klapmeier said.

This story has been updated with comments from the Montana Department of Corrections.

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