Experts: Hostage negotiations are arduous art
A terse conversation between a prison negotiator and inmate at Vaughn Correctional Center was revealed in snippets of audio recorded by The News Journal on Wednesday evening.
After hours of negotiations between prison staff and hostage takers, it was ultimately a Department of Correction-driven backhoe that ended the uprising, after crashing through the outer walls of the prison’s Building C.
Nevertheless, the recording is a rare window for the public to see strategies employed by state hostage negotiators.
Early in the clip, the negotiator asks about the condition of Sgt. Steven Floyd, a prison staff member held captive. Floyd was later found unresponsive in the facility and later pronounced dead.
“When we talk to (Gov. John Carney), you can talk to Floyd,” said the inmate, referred to as Sam.
Floyd's body has been turned over to the state Division of Forensic Science for an autopsy.
While the negotiator employed standard empathy practices with the inmate during much of the arduous, prolonged negotiation, the discourse became too combative when the topic turned to the governor, said Claire Finkelstein, director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania.
It was a shortcoming that could have stalled a more rapid solution to the uprising, she said.
The state’s negotiator, whose name has not been released, should have considered the inmate's desire to speak with Carney, said Finkelstein, who is also a professor of law and philosophy.
“This (inmate) saw that all the important people came from the governor’s office so the first thing I would have done is to get someone from the governor’s office on the phone,” she said.
During the discussion, the negotiator also suggested that inmates compose a "letter of intent," annotating their ultimate goals so that "we" can find a solution. Using the pronoun "we" was a key hostage negotiating tactic that established trust, Finkelstein said.
"You try and make the person feel like you are on his team," she said.
Sam ultimately agreed with the suggestion but demanded that he read the letter in a televised statement. He then turned his attention back to Carney.
“I want a full apology from the governor for the decades of oppression that’s been going on here,” Sam said. “They keep everything in house in here. Not no more.”
The negotiator and Sam at times sounded cordial as the conversation progressed, but each clearly kept their interests squarely in mind. While the negotiator noted appreciatively when the inmates released hostages, he balked when Sam again mentioned his desire to speak with Delaware’s governor.
“We just want the world to know that this wasn’t for nothing,” Sam said. “Or this is (going to be) a trial run.”
Jonathan Starkey, a spokesman for Carney, said the governor knew about the inmate's request, but after consulting with law enforcement, decided not to speak with him.
As the prisoner’s cellphone battery power faded, the negotiator suggested a trade: a new phone in exchange for the release of a prison therapist being held captive.
“Just a phone?” Sam asked, saying the therapist would be insulted that her release would garner such a paltry payment.
“That’s huge,” the negotiator responded.
The tenor of the conversation then grew darker toward the end of the audio segment.
Sam, clearly irritated, again demanded to speak with “higher-ups.”
“I’m talking about the governor now. If this phone dies, that’s the end of the communication,” he said.
STORY: Hostage takers call in demands to The News Journal
STORY: Body of Sgt. Steven Floyd arrives at Medical Examiner Office
Dan Dunne, a former national spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons, said negotiators and surrounding authorities must employ endless patience during these hostage situations.
Negotiations are often part of a larger "tactical strategy," Dunne said, acquiring information so that authorities can know when and if they should mount a siege. That is likely the strategy employed at Vaughn, he said. The longer the negotiator could keep the dialogue going, the more information authorities could glean, he said.
In 1991, Dunne oversaw a 10-day hostage crisis in Talladega, Alabama, when Cuban inmates took over a prison to block their deportation.
"We waiting over 10 days for that situation to be resolved ... from a tactical standpoint (the FBI) had taken steps to make sure that that was the prime time to do that breach," he said.
Dunne could not comment on whether the hostage negotiator at Vaughn should have been more receptive to the prisoner's desire to speak with the governor, but said prisons are often difficult for the public to understand.
"They're challenging environments, and this type of situation is a reality for correctional officials," he said.
Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.
Editor's note: Earlier versions of this story misstated who drove the backhoe.