By Lisa Backus
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
HARTFORD, Conn. — State correction officers used too much force and improper techniques to attempt to get an inmate to spit out possible contraband in a planned operation that ended with pepper spray affecting an entire housing dorm, a report issued by Connecticut’s correctional ombudsman said.
The state Department of Correction then disciplined Richard Benson for assaulting a guard by biting his fingers after the correction officer pounced on him in an effort to pull out an object the group conducting the operation thought they saw go into his mouth, according to the report by Ombudsman DeVaughn Ward.
The guards never found any contraband in 37-year-old Benson’s mouth or cell and he did not test positive for drugs, the report by Ward said. Benson was left choking and moaning that he couldn’t breathe and that his eyes were burning after they used the pepper spray, the report said.
He wasn’t taken for medical treatment immediately after the guards thought he had ingested drugs and there was no attempt to separate him from his cell during recreation times to safely conduct a search, Ward said.
His office identified “significant concerns regarding the manner in which the planned operation was executed, including the initiation of force in a populated open dormitory, the attempted physical retrieval of suspected contraband from Mr. Benson’s mouth, the deployment of chemical agent in close proximity to uninvolved incarcerated persons, the adequacy of the post-incident evaluation prior to placement in Restrictive Housing, and the disciplinary consequences that followed,” Ward said in the 17-page report.
Ward is recommending that the DOC stop using certain techniques to prevent inmates from ingesting contraband including drugs out of concerns that they could result in injuries, and he wants a review of the discipline issued to Benson based on the findings of his investigation into the incident.
He acknowledged that the DOC had information that Benson likely was receiving drugs from visitors but said the “existence of a security concern” doesn’t eliminate the agency’s “obligation to plan and execute interventions” in a way that is consistent with DOC policies including using reasonable force, medical safeguards and making sure uninvolved incarcerated people are out of harm’s way.
Ward began investigating after receiving a complaint that correction officers had used excessive force in a planned operation to separate Benson from the general population at Carl Robinson Correctional Institution on May 1, 2025, to investigate a tip that he was receiving contraband from a visitor, the report said.
Guards formed a plan to remove Benson from the general population and transfer him to restrictive housing while an investigation on the report of contraband was investigated, according to Ward.
But the planned operation went awry when, according to staff, Benson, who was lying on his bunk as they were approaching, “they observed him place an object into his mouth.”
Ward said video footage reviewed by his office showed correctional staff entered his housing unit and rapidly approached Benson’s bunk and within 28 seconds, “two correctional employees were physically on top of Mr. Benson, while staff repeatedly shouted commands including ‘stop resisting’ and ‘spit it out.’”
Three second later, a correction officer can be seen on the video placing his fingers inside Benson’s mouth before yelling, “stop biting my finger,” the report said. Less than 30 seconds later, the guards deployed pepper spray and can be heard shouting “open your mouth” and “you’re going to get sprayed again,” while Benson remained pinned to the bunk by the guards, Ward said in the report. “During this period, Mr. Benson can be heard coughing and gagging.” the report said.
Ward is recommending reforms in the way the DOC handles planned operations and complies with agency directives including how to safely deal with an inmate who may have ingested drugs.
“The May 1, 2025 incident was not a spontaneous emergency response,” Ward said in the report. “It was a planned operation initiated after DOC received and reviewed intelligence concerning suspected contraband. Because the operation was planned, the Department had time to consider the
safest and least disruptive means of achieving its objective.”
This story will be updated.
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