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| County Jail Remains on Lockdown |
| By azcentral.com |
| Published: 07/13/2009 |
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County jail remains on lockdown The Arizona Republic The Maricopa County Sheriff Office's Fourth Avenue Jail will be kept on lockdown over the weekend because of concerns over racial tension, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. About 200 Sheriff's officers and posse members conducted a day-long search on Saturday for weapons amid ongoing racial tensions within inmates in the jail, Arpaio said. The sweep netted no weapons or contraband. Maricopa County jails were first locked down late last month after deputies learned of a planned disturbance that was racially motivated, officials said. The lockdown means inmates can't see visitors or make telephone calls, and their meals must be served in their cells. Most jails were reopened within a week, but the Fourth Avenue Jail, which houses 1,700 inmates, will remain closed "indefinitely," Arpaio said. "We'll evaluate the situation and see next week whether we will end the lockdown," he said. Arpaio said Hispanic and Black inmates have requested segregation and he said problems could escalate. "I just want to be ahead of the game to be proactive," Arpaio said. "I'm not going to wait for a riot." The lockdown is the second in the past two months. In May, all jails were locked down after some inmates complained they were being threatened with violence if they didn't participate in a hunger strike that had spread through the jail system Read More. |
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