Tensions in Ariz. prison standoff increase

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By The Arizona Republic

Published: 01/22/2004

Tensions increased Wednesday as inmates holding two corrections officers hostage showed signs of aggression.
One inmate lobbed a smoke grenade off the top of the watch tower as the siege at Arizona's second-largest prison continued for a fourth day.
About 20 minutes later, one of the inmates pointed an AR-15 rifle out a hatch in the tower.
Prison officials insisted the incidents were not a setback in negotiations which have been occurring around the clock since the officers were taken hostage early Sunday.
Spokeswoman Cam Hunter said negotiators did nothing to trigger the incidents and talks with the two inmates resumed immediately after.
These developments were a marked contrast from the inmates' behavior a day earlier, when they complied with negotiators' requests to see the hostages through a window and speak with them by radio.
The officers were seen Tuesday afternoon walking up a flight of stairs leading from the second floor of the watch tower to the third floor. Both were moving well, but the male officer did have some trauma to his head.
Negotiators were then also allowed to speak briefly to the officers in what the described as a "wellness check."
Air space has been restricted for a three-mile radius around the Lewis prison complex after officials said traffic was disrupting negotiations.
Department of Corrections officials have also worked to limit the amount of information available to the media. They point to the safety of the officers as their reasoning.
The standoff began at 5 a.m. Sunday with a melee in the kitchen of the Morey Unit. A series of security breakdowns then allowed the inmates to take control of the tower.
Negotiators will continue for as long as the inmates are willing to talk.

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