TACOMA, Wash. — Five teens have been charged after an incident at Tacoma's Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center was captured on video and shared on social media last week.
The Tacoma Police Department said the incident happened on May 29. One of the detainees live-streamed the event with a phone left behind by a staff member, according to the department.
The video shows detainees damaging the facility and verbally berating a guard. At one point in the video, you can see a makeshift barricade at the door to keep the guards out. Toward the end of the video, detainees break a window in an attempt to get outside before turning around.
Eventually, the detention center had to call the Tacoma Police Department for backup.
A spokesperson from the center said five detainees had to be escorted back to their rooms.
No injuries were reported, and although Tacoma police said this isn’t a common occurrence at Remann Hall, it ended as best as it could.
“We see it as a success, no one got hurt, and at the end of the day, that’s what we hope is going to be the case,” Tacoma Police Officer Shelbie Boyd. “With this situation, de-escalation is at the top of our list as the number one tool that we use in Tacoma.
The teens have all been charged with prison riot and first-degree malicious mischief.
Pierce County Juvenile Court said it will be reviewing the incident to see what needs to change to keep this from happening again.
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