BREAKING: PRISON RIOT ERUPTS OVERNIGHT AT TROUSDALE TURNER CORRECTIONAL CENTER
HARTSVILLE, TN — A major law enforcement response was called overnight after a riot broke out at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center (TTCC), one of Tennessee’s largest privately run prisons.
The first emergency call came in around 10 p.m. Sunday, reporting a disturbance inside the facility. Authorities confirm that more than 100 officers from multiple agencies — including Sumner, Wilson, Macon, Smith counties and the Tennessee Highway Patrol — responded to the scene.
While no inmates escaped the facility, several managed to break out of their housing units and flood into the main yard, still contained within the interior fencing. Law enforcement officers deployed tear gas to regain control, eventually forcing the inmates back into their cells.
Three correctional officers were taken hostage during the chaos. All were later released without life-threatening injuries.
Trousdale County Sheriff Ray Russell emphasized there was no threat to the public and that at no point did inmates breach the prison’s outer perimeter. As of this morning, officials are conducting a full headcount and checking inmates for injuries.
The cause of the riot remains under investigation. Questions are mounting about security protocols, staffing levels, and why containment initially failed.
This incident comes just days after a correctional officer was assaulted by two inmates in a housing unit. That officer was hospitalized and remains under medical care.
Trousdale Turner, operated by CoreCivic and located in Hartsville, has long faced scrutiny. The Tennessee Department of Correction has documented persistent issues, and the U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil investigation last year into the facility’s conditions. Among the troubling findings over the past eight years:
Nearly 200 assaults
Two inmate murders
15 accidental deaths
90 incidents of sexual misconduct
Earlier this year, the prison’s warden, Vince Vantell, resigned from his post. The facility’s contract with CoreCivic is set to expire in about a year, but it remains unclear what will happen after that.
As the investigation unfolds, many are once again raising concerns about transparency and safety inside TTCC — a facility already known for serious operational failures.
