DOC Secretary says large search for contraband at State Penitentiary ongoing

The South Dakota State Penitentiary is undergoing a significant search for contraband, Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko stated via email.

DOC staff began the search Thursday for "illicit contraband in order to ensure the safety of the facility following a small group of offenders being disruptive," Wasko stated.

As of 9:15 p.m. Friday, the search was ongoing.

"Leadership at all levels has been engaged," Wasko stated. "We are proud of the professional and dedicated staff in Sioux Falls and volunteers from other facilities that are contributing to order and security."

The search follows two nights of "disturbance," one of which included the assault of at least one corrections officer.

Shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, multiple local media outlets reported fire alarms, yelling and chanting could be heard at the facility, and more correctional officers were called in to help settle the disruption, but the exact details remain unclear.

A similar instance occured Wednesday evening, but exact details of both remain unclear and the incidents are being investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation under the South Dakota Office of the Attorney General.

Between 4-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, audible chants of "We want phones" could be heard coming through the penitentiary's walls. Inmates could also be heard "yelling, screaming and banging" from outside the facility Wednesday evening, according to Argus Leader visual journalist Samantha Laurey, who was on scene. By 8:30 p.m. that night, Wasko stated order had been restored and that a staff assault had occured.

More: Order restored after 'disturbance' at South Dakota State Penitentiary: DOC Secretary

"It is the Attorney General’s intent to prosecute those responsible for any harm done to correctional officers, other inmates, and state property to the fullest extent of the law," Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a statement following both instances.

The Argus Leader has reached out to the DOC and Gov. Kristi Noem's office multiple times during the last two days to ask about the events, including what happened during and since the incidents, and how badly staff and any others may have been injured, how order had been restored and what policies the prison has regarding "disturbances."

Multiple staff at the penitentiary, including Warden Teresa Bittinger, interim major Cody Hanson, a lieutenant, a maintenance worker, a construction worker, and two corrections officers, would not answer questions from two Argus Leader reporters who were present at the penitentiary on Friday morning.

Wasko's statement late Friday was the first response received directly from the secretary since the two incidents, but Noem told broadcast media outlets Thursday afternoon that Wednesday's incident was tied to the recent indefinite suspension and investigation of the use of tablets, texting and email services inside the prison.

The DOC suspended tablet usage and texting and email services March 8 for inmates with no definitive end date as part of what was described an ongoing investigation, South Dakota Searchlight reported.

The tablets, offered at no cost to the state by a private company contracted with the DOC for inmate telephone services, are something the inmates must pay to use, the nonprofit news outlet reporter. They offer services like the ability to send messages, make phone calls, listen to music and more, including the ability to research or take courses online, Searchlight reported.

Now the use of a landline is the only option, the news outlet reported. That can often involve long wait times or the frustration of talking over other inmates in loud common areas, the outlet reported.

According to a 2023 Fiscal Year Statistical Report about the DOC's correctional facilities, the state penitentiary had an onground population of 792 with an average daily population of 755.

More: State officials mum about second night of unrest at Sioux Falls prison

A look at the history of offender assaults on staff in 2022 at the state's correctional facilities showed a five-year high, but in 2023 showed a five-year low with 61 total assaults. Of those, six resulted in serious injury to a staff member, the report states.

The report also states in 2023 there were 193 cases involving use of force, 85% of which were unplanned incidents. The Jameson Prison Annex had the most use of force cases in 2023 with 91 incidents, 63 (69%) in which pepper spray was used, the report shows.

Recent controversies at the state penitentiary

The state pen has been in existence since 1881, and is at the start of being relocated to Lincoln County, after the state purchased property earlier this year. The multi-million decision spurred naysayers in Lincoln County to file a lawsuit against the state in hopes of stopping the move and urging for more transparency around the decision. The state asked for the case to be dismissed.

State officials and lawmakers spent more than two years trying to decide how to overhaul the outdated facility. The new facility will be on 300 acres and is anticipated to have 1,500 beds.

And in the last three years, the DOC and state pen have also seen an administrative overhaul by Noem. An investigation into the DOC during the spring of 2021 regarding allegations of sexual harassment misconduct and nepotism led to the firings of former DOC Secretary Mike Leidholt and then-state penitentiary Warden Darin Young.

More: South Dakota DOC has collected $1.25 million from inmates for calls, messages since 2021

Wasko was named to the role in March 2022, with a background of 22 years of experience in adult and juvenile correction, after Leidholt was placed on administrative leave and took early retirement from his position amid the controversy.

She stepped in at a time when more than a quarter of correctional officer positions within the DOC were unfullfilled and has worked with state officials to increase starting wages to get more people to apply.

Wasko, though, was recently under fire herself when penitentiary staff sent a letter in early January to Noem urging for Wasko’s removal.

The letter, obtained by the Argus Leader in a public records request, addressed collective concerns staff shared regarding numerous policy changes in the prison and the consequences of those changes since Wasko was named to the position.

The letter, about the length of one page, discussed the “safety, efficiency and morale” within the correctional facility because of the recent policy changes.

But as of late January, no state agency had taken up the complaint to investigate further.

It remains unclear if the two incidents might be tied to any issues beyond the tablet suspension.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: DOC Secretary: Large search for contraband at State Penitentiary ongoing