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| Inmates take two officers hostage in Arizona prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/19/2004 |
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Two state prison officers were taken hostage by inmates early Sunday, and negotiators were called in to try to defuse the situation. One inmate at the Lewis state prison in Buckeye, Ariz. attacked an officer during breakfast preparations shortly after 5 a.m., then met with another inmate in the prison yard and they gained access to the officers' tower, said Jim Robideau, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections. A male correctional officer taken hostage was injured, said Cam Hunter, a department spokeswoman. Officials did not release details of the injury but said the other hostage, a female correctional officer, was not believed to be hurt. Two other officers and a staff member were injured in a scuffle, Robideau said. One had severe injuries and was taken to a hospital, Phoenix Fire Department spokeswoman Rebecca Dauer said. All other staff members and inmates were accounted for, and the rest of the inmates were locked in their cells, authorities said. Negotiation teams and officers from the Corrections Department, the Department of Public Safety and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis. Officials at the scene said they didn't know what the negotiators were discussing with the inmates. Joe Masella, president of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association, said that although he had no details about the circumstances, negotiators generally try to calm the inmates and "make them realize that they're in a no-win situation." The medium-to high-security prison, west of Phoenix, houses 4,400 inmates, most convicted of felonies such as manslaughter and aggravated assault. Masella said prison staff members did a good job of ensuring that no other inmate disturbances occurred after the hostage-taking. Earlier this month, the prison was the site of two small fires started after an altercation between two inmates spread unrest among 80 prisoners. No one was hurt as a result of the fires, but three correctional officers suffered minor injuries while quelling the disturbance. |
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