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| Two California Officers Attacked by Inmates |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/06/2002 |
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Two officers were attacked by inmates at the state prison in Lancaster, the second such incident in the past three months officials said. Correctional officers Nicole Hawthorne and Henry Romo were attacked by two cellmates early Saturday while escorting prisoners to breakfast, prison spokesman Lt. Ron Nipper said. Other officers quickly broke up the fight, with one firing wooden bullets at the inmates. Hawthorne was taken to Antelope Valley Hospital with blurred vision, a hematoma to the right eye and lacerations to the head. She was treated and released, and was expected to fully recover. Romo was not injured. The suspects, Aaron Washington, 47, and Sharifu Washington, 30, suffered minor injuries. They were transferred to a state prison in Tehachapi. Prison officials were unsure if the two are related. Both are serving life sentences for first-degree murder. Officials said they could face prosecution for the assaults. Authorities believe that the men may have started the altercation because the prison has cut back inmates' privileges, including the removal of weights from prison yards, imposed strict dress policies and banned pornographic magazines. Nipper said prison officials angered some inmates with stricter enforcement of rules after a riot in December involving 300 inmates. The crackdown is now believed to be what motivated Crips gang members to attack three Lancaster prison officers Aug. 12, Nipper said. One officer was stabbed in the head and another suffered a fractured jaw. Prison officials responded to the August attack with a sweeping investigation that led to the confiscation of 70 weapons and charges against more than 15 inmates for planning or taking part in the attack. The prison houses some of the state's most violent felons. Built in 1993, the prison initially held 2,200 inmates it now holds about 4,000. Statewide, inmate assaults on prison officers and staffers have nearly tripled in the last decade. There were 933 assaults in 1991, compared with 2,768 last year. |
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