California inmates turn canes, walkers into weapons

[Kadie]

California inmates turn canes, walkers into weapons

September 22, 2009 1:59 PM

AVENAL, Calif. (AP) — A California prison was under lockdown Tuesday as administrators investigated a riot involving rival Latino gangs that sent 24 inmates to hospitals, one in serious condition.

Inmates at Avenal State Prison used canes, walkers and foot rests from wheelchairs to beat each other Monday night. The most seriously injured inmates suffered puncture and slash wounds, none life-threatening.

"Exactly what they were fighting over, we're still trying to figure that out," said Lt. Doug Snell, prison spokesman. "It's still a big mess."

It took 16 ambulances responding from four counties to carry the injured to five hospitals.

Avenal, built in 1986 in the southern Central Valley, is a medium-security prison where inmates have earned the right to live in dormitories instead of cells. Only one of the six housing complexes was involved.

The fight began in the yard of Facility 5, where 1,026 inmates are housed, then immediately spread inside three of the four dormitories. Two hours later, as prison officials were cleaning up, fighting broke out in the fourth dorm, Snell said.


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[Deja Q]

1. Dang, how old were these people anyway?

:wow:

[LeftyMom]

2. Prisoners will turn almost ANYTHING into weapons.

When I was growing up my Dad worked at the Correctional Officers Training Center, which has a small museum of improvised weapons taken from inmates. There's obvious stuff like shivs made out of all sorts of stuff, but the most ornate weapon is a huge carved crucifix an inmate made. It breaks open to form a handle for a smuggled ice pick. They're bored, they have little else to do but think of ways to jockey for position.

Kind of unusual for this sort of thing to happen at a low security facility though.

[vadawg]

3. you gotta remember these dudes have 24/7 to work on stuff

the only way to keep on top of it is to heavily classify, do shakedowns all the time, search everyone randomly all the time, basically the officers need to use their boredom to constantly piss of the inmates by conducting searches. Its a balancing act but just by getting on their nuts you can stop a lot of the manufacter and smuggling..