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San Quentin inmates in lockdown after riot
Suzanne Herel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006
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(02-02) 14:44 PST SAN QUENTIN -- About 900 inmates at San Quentin State Prison are on lockdown while officials investigate rioting that injured 16 inmates this morning and yielded 36 slashing weapons fashioned from toothbrushes, wire, bed springs, razors, pens and more, authorities said.
The riot started shortly before 8:45 a.m. in a dining hall that serves new inmates, corrections Sgt. Eric Messick said. It involved Latinos who prison officials believe are associated with the Nortenos (Northerners) gang fighting with a group of black prisoners, he said.
The noise of the brawl and ensuing response by correctional officers sparked a similar riot in a nearby dining hall. Messick said the second group of inmates may have coordinated with the first and been waiting to hear the officers' whistles as a cue.
"It quickly escalated to the point where we had to put out on the radio for all available staff to respond," Messick said.
Each of the dining halls holds about 280 inmates. At the time the fighting broke out, one was full and prisoners were filing into the other for breakfast. In all, about 400 inmates were in the dining halls, and an estimated 86 were involved in the fighting, Messick said.
The incident drew an emergency response of about 100 officers who used pepper spray, batons and physical force to control the inmates, Messick said. The prisoners were herded into the recreational yard, where 16 of them were found to have suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Messick said. He said 70 inmates had been exposed to pepper spray.
Six black prisoners were slashed or stabbed. All of the injured were treated by prison doctors and released back to their cells.
There were no reported injuries to staff members.
The prison remained on a heightened level of security until 10:21 a.m.
The blocks where the prisoners are housed remained on lockdown, meaning the inmates could not move around San Quentin except to receive medical treatment. The lockdown status will be reviewed every 24 hours, Messick said.
In general, the inmates involved in the rioting were parole violators and those serving sentences shorter than 15 years, authorities said.
Messick said the riot probably was not connected to a similar incident that occurred Jan. 12, in which 23 inmates and two correctional officers were injured in a fight that broke out in the evening in a dining hall.
However, prison officials do think the violence is linked to tensions between the Nortenos and the black prisoners, Messick said.
"There have been ongoing difficulties between those two groups," he said, including two fights in August.
The most recent lockdown at San Quentin occurred Jan. 25, when a death-row inmate slashed the arm of a correctional officer
San Quentin inmates in lockdown after riot
Suzanne Herel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Printable Version
Email This Article
(02-02) 14:44 PST SAN QUENTIN -- About 900 inmates at San Quentin State Prison are on lockdown while officials investigate rioting that injured 16 inmates this morning and yielded 36 slashing weapons fashioned from toothbrushes, wire, bed springs, razors, pens and more, authorities said.
The riot started shortly before 8:45 a.m. in a dining hall that serves new inmates, corrections Sgt. Eric Messick said. It involved Latinos who prison officials believe are associated with the Nortenos (Northerners) gang fighting with a group of black prisoners, he said.
The noise of the brawl and ensuing response by correctional officers sparked a similar riot in a nearby dining hall. Messick said the second group of inmates may have coordinated with the first and been waiting to hear the officers' whistles as a cue.
"It quickly escalated to the point where we had to put out on the radio for all available staff to respond," Messick said.
Each of the dining halls holds about 280 inmates. At the time the fighting broke out, one was full and prisoners were filing into the other for breakfast. In all, about 400 inmates were in the dining halls, and an estimated 86 were involved in the fighting, Messick said.
The incident drew an emergency response of about 100 officers who used pepper spray, batons and physical force to control the inmates, Messick said. The prisoners were herded into the recreational yard, where 16 of them were found to have suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Messick said. He said 70 inmates had been exposed to pepper spray.
Six black prisoners were slashed or stabbed. All of the injured were treated by prison doctors and released back to their cells.
There were no reported injuries to staff members.
The prison remained on a heightened level of security until 10:21 a.m.
The blocks where the prisoners are housed remained on lockdown, meaning the inmates could not move around San Quentin except to receive medical treatment. The lockdown status will be reviewed every 24 hours, Messick said.
In general, the inmates involved in the rioting were parole violators and those serving sentences shorter than 15 years, authorities said.
Messick said the riot probably was not connected to a similar incident that occurred Jan. 12, in which 23 inmates and two correctional officers were injured in a fight that broke out in the evening in a dining hall.
However, prison officials do think the violence is linked to tensions between the Nortenos and the black prisoners, Messick said.
"There have been ongoing difficulties between those two groups," he said, including two fights in August.
The most recent lockdown at San Quentin occurred Jan. 25, when a death-row inmate slashed the arm of a correctional officer
