Posted on 02/06/2006 8:54:38 AM PST by freepatriot32
CASTAIC, Calif. - Most of Los Angeles County's jail system was on lockdown Monday after fighting broke out between blacks and Hispanics at two jails over the weekend. One inmate died in the fighting, and more than 100 others were injured.
The lockdown was intended to reduce tensions, and it wasn't clear how long it would remain in effect, said Lt. Robert Craton, a watch commander at the North County Correctional Facility.
"We are making every attempt to get back to normal," he said.
Black and Hispanic inmates at the North County Correctional Facility were segregated Saturday after the fighting broke out among 1,800 to 2,000 inmates and a black inmate was killed. Craton said the inmates were still separated early Monday.
Normally, authorities can't segregate prisoners based on race or ethnicity, but legal advisers said it can be done in emergency situations, said Sam Jones, chief custody officer of the county jail system.
The second riot broke out late Sunday at the adjacent North Facility jail, involving about 200 Hispanic and black inmates and wounding 10 people, said Deputy Alba Yates of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The North Facility was not on lockdown when the fighting broke out in four dorms, but was locked down afterward, said watch commander Lt. Bob Hudson. Each sleeping dorm holds up to 90 inmates, he said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Bill Spear said officials at other jails in the 21,000-inmate system had implemented lockdowns as a precaution, but he didn't immediately know how many.
Authorities said they were investigating whether the two weekend riots were related.
Saturday's riot appeared to be fueled by a feud between black and Hispanic gangs, investigators said. Wayne Robert Tiznor, a 45-year-old black inmate, was killed during the fighting, though it wasn't clear if he was singled out. He had been jailed after an arrest Jan. 3 for failing to register as a sex offender, sheriff's officials said.
It appeared no weapons were used, but inmates tossed mattresses and banged heads against bunk beds, officials said.
My neighbor is a prison Lt. at the Lancaster prison. He told me they were put on alert about possibly going to Castaic but didn't get called. He says the biggest problem is that they aren't allowed to segregate the blacks, hispanics and whites (mainly along gang affiliation or white supremacist lines). It's considered racism so they have to sit back and wait for the powder to ignite. Can't have the guards taking pre-emptive action now can we? Guess what? They have a race riot. Isn't that racism to allow them to have a race riot?
Segregate the low risk offenders from the high risk offenders and let the high risk population have their free for all with the prison guards standing by. Last man standing gets the needle. Just MHO
SZ
Wonder if this is a direct result of the recent court ruling stoping prisons from segregating by race the new entrants.
These riots have been going on there for years between the various gangs.
The only people that get into the "protected" quarters areas are those who snitch or the admitted homosexuals
True enough, just my thoughts on controlling prison populations and saving the taxpayers some $.
Cheers,
SZ
And...so... is this a good thing or a bad thing?
put them all in one arena and let them sort it out...
Great idea! And fill the yard with shanks, hidden like easter eggs. It would have great entertainment value for overworked, stressed, and convict-threatened and language-abused guards; plus save us taxpayers a lot of money that we spend on food, shelter and, in the case of death row inmates, court appeals and hypodermic needles filled with sodium cyanide.
This has been going on for years. While prisoners cannot be separated(brilliant move, people), my ex brother in law did a little time there. He's a pretty nice guy, so when the Blacks and Hispanics were ready to rumble, the deputies would hide him ;-) There weren't too many other whites in custody at that particular moment.
Were there cartoons involved?
Probablt best to just put them all on one Island somewhere MadMax style and let them figure things out... I hear the French have some lovely Islands they used to use for this...
Pay Per View can pay for the spectacle..
LOL!!!
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