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| Correctional officers injured in recent prison violence |
| By Imperial Valley Press |
| Published: 03/01/2004 |
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Five correctional officers suffered minor to moderate injuries after inmates in two local California prisons allegedly assaulted them over the past three weeks while a sixth officer suffered first- and second-degree burns to an arm when a smoke grenade accidentally exploded in his vest. Additionally, correctional authorities seized more than an ounce of marijuana from an inmate who allegedly received the narcotic in a care package. The first assault occurred at Calipatria State Prison on Feb. 8 and involved inmate Joseph Barrett, who faces a death penalty sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder last month. Correctional Lt. Ray Madden said the incident occurred in the administrative segregation unit building where the prison's most violent inmates are housed. A correctional officer was distributing toilet cleaning supplies to the inmates in the unit when Barrett allegedly grabbed the officer's arm and pulled it through his cell's food port. Prison medical staff treated the officer at the scene for a minor laceration on his right hand and he returned to work later that day, noted Madden. Centinela State Prison was the scene of two separate assaults on Feb. 9 and Feb. 12. Additionally, the prison was the scene of a drug bust Feb. 18. Deavonne Long, public information officer at Calipatria prison, said the Feb. 9 assault occurred when two correctional officers were searching a cell. One of the inmates housed in the cell allegedly assaulted the officers with his fists. Three other inmates joined the assault on the officers, said Long, and responding staff arrived to subdue the inmates through the use of pepper spray and batons. The two officers who were assaulted suffered contusions on their heads, noted Long, and were taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and released. A correctional officer who responded to the assault received second- to third-degree burns on his right arm, said Long, when a smoke grenade accidentally exploded in his vest. The second assault occurred in the same building on Feb. 12 about 3 p.m., said Long, and involved an inmate inebriated from drinking an inmate-produced alcoholic drink. The inmate's cell was being searched as he sat outside on a bench in the building dayroom when he stood up and allegedly punched an officer's right thigh. The marijuana seizure occurred Feb. 12, said Long. An inmate on the yard was awaiting receipt of a care package mailed to him when the officer inspecting the package allegedly discovered marijuana in a clear plastic pouch placed in a box of pasta. All the inmates involved in the incidents are being housed in administrative segregation and are facing possible prosecution for their alleged infractions. |
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