CORCORAN — Around 110 members of custody staff at California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) responded to a series of violent incidents Tuesday morning, stopping a one-on-one fight between inmates that led to concurrent large-scale riots in two different areas of the facility.
No members of COR staff were injured in the incidents.
The events were set off by a fight between two inmates inside a COR housing unit during the morning meal at approximately 7:19 a.m. COR staff ordered the inmates to stop fighting and get down, and utilized less-than-lethal direct impact rounds to stop the fight.
As responding staff initiated the escorts of the involved inmates, approximately 40-50 inmates began to riot inside the housing unit at around 7:22 a.m. Custody staff utilized multiple less-than-lethal force options to quell the riot, including chemical agents and additional direct impact rounds.
Simultaneous to the meal-time violence, approximately 60-70 Inmates on Corcoran’s eastside recreation yard responded by engaging in a riot that required the involvement of nearly 100 officers.
It was necessary for responding staff to utilize multiple chemical agents and less-than-lethal force options to quell the riot.
Responding staff restrained all involved inmates, processed the crime scene and collected evidence. A systematic recall of the inmates was initiated once all inmates were medically evaluated and triaged.
It took officers just 20 minutes to resolve all incidents and three inmate-made weapons were recovered.
Four inmates who required medical attention were treated by COR medical staff. Two inmates were also transported to an area hospital after sustaining head trauma.
Staff interviewed inmates and conducted cell searches to investigate the cause of the incidents and return facility 3A to normalcy under modified programming.
California State Prison, Corcoran opened in 1988 and houses approximately 3,400 minimum-, medium-maximum and high-security custody inmates. The prison employs approximately 2,500 people.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
CONTACT: Lt. Eddie Sanchez,
(559) 992-6104
###