ACI Locked Down After Anonymous Letters Threaten Correctional Officers

The Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston was locked down for a period of time on Wednesday after the state prison received an anonymous letter threatening that correctional officers would be killed.

The letter, which threatened that COs would be killed in the John J. Moran Medium Security Facility, was similar in nature to a letter that named three COs by name sent on Aug. 24. That letter alleged to have home addresses and vehicle descriptions of the officers.

The investigation into the earlier letter is ongoing by the state police and Department of Corrections investigators.

The president of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, the union that represents the COs, Richard Ferruccio, said in an alert to members Wednesday afternoon that the matter is being taken seriously.

“In light of recent trending events across the country involving the murders of law enforcement officers, RIBCO is urging its members to remain vigilant not only on-duty, but off-duty as well,” Ferruccio said.

The lockdown procedure also cancelled inmate visits.

Earlier this year, COs were assaulted in a series of incidents at the state prison that injured four and sent several COs to the hospital of stitches and surgery.

In January, “These assaults followed a yearlong trend of escalating violence within our facilities,” Ferruccio said. “So far this January we have had 60 inmates booked for fighting and or assault compared with 38 in December 2014. We have made our concerns for staff safety know to our department management team.”

Photo: A cell in the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. (Photo by Mark Schieldrop)