Tecumseh

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Tecumseh prison facility aiming toward resuming full operational schedule
A southeast Nebraska prison facility is taking steps toward resuming a normal operational schedule,
Nebraska State Correctional Services officials announced Wednesday.

TECUMSEH, Neb. -- A southeast Nebraska prison facility is taking steps toward resuming a normal operational schedule, Nebraska State Correctional Services officials announced Wednesday. The facility will increase inmate movement on the weekends – a move that will begin Saturday.

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Tecumseh State Prison inmate with history of mental health issues shot 200 times with nonlethal projectiles



TECUMSEH, Neb. — The watchdog overseeing Nebraska's prisons raises questions about what he called "an incredible amount" of force used to subdue an out-of-control inmate with a history of mental health issues. Nebraska's inspector general of corrections, Doug Koebernick, said the inmate was shot 200 times with pepper balls and other projectiles during an incident at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution in June of 2021.

"Kind of a lack of clarity on how to proceed. And then eventually they did proceed they used incredible amount of force," Koebernick said. In a 34-page report issued Tuesday, Koebernick said the prison "mishandled" the incident in many ways. Writing that a chaotic scene, understaffing and a lack of clear leadership led staff to fire nonlethal weapons repeatedly at the inmate. "With a variety of objects, including like beanbags from basically a shotgun, these round pepper balls that came out there like a paintball and rubber bullets as well," Koebernick said.

The report does not name the inmate but shows he has a history of mental illness.