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Escape sheds light on violence at Tenn. center

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Despite its idyllic-sounding name, the Woodland Hills Youth Development Center had seen a decade of violent clashes, breakout attempts and attacks on guards.

    by By Lucas L. Johnson II, Associated Press, Inquirer
    Published 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Despite its idyllic-sounding name, the Woodland Hills Youth Development Center had seen a decade of violent clashes, breakout attempts and attacks on guards.

Then, on Monday night, 32 teens escaped. Just two days later, two dozen detainees broke into the yard wielding sticks and spraying a fire extinguisher.

The problems shed light on the difficulty of maintaining order at a center where most of the 14- to 19-year-olds have committed at least three felonies, and the challenges faced by Tennessee's Department of Children's Services in trying to fix the issues.

In an interview Thursday, DCS Commissioner Jim Henry said policies will be reviewed to see if guards could be given weapons such as stun guns to help control unruly detainees. Currently, guards do not carry weapons and must rely on talking with the inmates to quell disturbances.

Henry said parts of the facility's structure are being looked at, and officials will try to figure out how to better help detainees with mental illness or drug addiction. Despite being perceived as tough, he said, most of the youths are "damaged when they come to us ... They're angry."

Henry plans to give a report to Gov. Bill Haslam next week.

Some lawmakers want Haslam to reopen Taft Youth Development Center, which closed in 2012. It primarily housed older, more violent offenders, who were transferred to Woodland Hills, which then saw a spike in assaults.

Between July and September of 2012, police had to be called at least 47 times for assistance, which surpassed total police visits for the previous two years combined.

In this week's violence, inmates kicked through foam panels surrounded by metal to get into the yard. Those may be replaced with solid metal panels, Henry said.

Furthermore, Henry said, officials may rethink allowing teens free access to common areas.

According to officials, the 32 teens who escaped Woodland Hills on Monday found a weak spot in the fence surrounding the yard and broke out. Six remained at large Thursday.