The 1968 Ohio Penitentiary Riot
On June 24, 1968, the Ohio Penitentiary experienced a short but costly riot at the hands of inmates. This riot was put down in short order, but unfortunately, it was only a prelude to a much larger and more deadly confrontation to come.
At 10:15 AM on August 20, 1968, reports that inmates in C and D block had taken guards at knifepoint were received from the prison. The disorder quickly spread as inmates took guards' keys and began freeing other prisoners, setting fires, and looting the commissary, hospital, and mess hall.
About an hour after the uprising started, a platoon of 30 Patrol officers arrived to protect firefighters and bring rioting prisoners under control. The fires were quickly extinguished and Warden M.J. Koloski, who was in constant conference with inmates from the start, emerged with a list of demands. The demands were typical: inmates demanded amnesty, more privileges, the firing of several named guards, and media exposure.
It was then determined that nine guards were be ing held hostage. The warden agreed to all but one of the demands, and at around 2:00 PM, five representatives of the local media were escorted into the prison for a news conference. Prisoners were clearly in disarray -- many were drunk or high on drugs stolen from the hospital, leadership had deteriorated, and the rioters were now fighting amongst themselves.
After 30 minutes, the news conference was terminated. In addition to issuing new demands, the rioters restated their backs were against the wall and they were ready to "burn the hostages to a cinder." Added were shouts that they were going to roll a head into the yard. They then stated that they would continue to hold the hostages until the newspapers were out and they could see their demands in print. Warden Koloski continued face-to-face negotiations with rioters for a while, then emerged and reported that the cell blocks had been barricaded, and the prisoners had gasoline and were ready to set fire to the entrances and hostages. The hostages were now being held in the top (6th) level, in cells which inmates had jammed by chiseling the locks.
At this point -- about five hours into the riot -- it became evident that planning must be done to free the hostages by force. Col. Chiaramonte, Lt. Col. C. E. Reich, and General S. T. Del Corso (commander of the National Guard) met with with a variety of experts and representatives to devise their plan. The plan completed, officials had only to wait as Warden Koloski continued negotiations to free the hostage guards. By 6:30 PM, it was already too late to launch the assault, so the bulk of the 170-man contingent of Highway Patrol officers returned to duty at the State Fair.
After nearly continuous dialogue throughout the night and into the next day, it was clear that the hostages were in very grave danger and should be removed at once. The inmates had grown more wild and violent than ever, and showed no indication they would free the guards. At noon an inmate was stabbed by another in plain view of officials, and soon there was a very real threat that the entire institution might be taken over.
At 2:50 PM, the assault was launched.
The approach was very similar to one used by Gen. Del Corso in World War II. Two simultaneous explosions were set off -- one on the roof and one in the wall -- which, aside from allowing access for the assault squads, momentarily stunned rioters. The initial entry was made by Cpl. V. G. Archer and Ptl. S. M. Erter, who dropped through the hole in the roof to protect the hostages while the remainder of the force worked its way to that level of cells. One squad of patrolmen, under the command of Capt. W. C. George, entered and secured the area bet ween A-B and C-D blocks. The remaining platoon of Patrol officers (three squads), under the command of Lt. S. L. Adomaitis, entered A-B block at ground level and systematically moved up each level of cells, successfully securing each and reaching the hostages. At the same time, a platoon of Columbus Police officers, under the command of Major (later Chief) Dwight Joseph moved in and quickly secured C-D blocks.
When the smoke cleared, five inmates were dead and another nine were injured: three guards, two Columbus Police officers, and two Patrol officers were also injured.
Apparently in sympathy with the Ohio Penitentiary riot, minor disturbances were also experienced at London and Lebanon on August 20. These were quickly quelled by the Patrol and guard personnel.