Warning shot fired at SRCI
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:48 PM PDT
Andy Gates Argus Observer
ONTARIO
A fight between three inmates that erupted in a recreation yard of the Snake River Correctional Institution Tuesday morning forced a corrections officer to shoot a warning shot from a nearby observation tower.
Prison officials refused to release the inmates' names for security reasons and do not know why the inmates were physically fighting around 10 a.m., SRCI Public Information Officer Amber Campbell said.
Guards instructed inmates over a loud speaker to cease the fight, but it continued so an officer shot a firearm from the tower into a designated shot area - which is a pit in the ground with tires around it, a “no man zone,” Campbell said. One inmate broke out of the fight after the warning shot was fired, but two other inmates continued to fight until officers on the ground sprayed them with OC spray, which is like pepper spray, Campbell said.
The inmates were all evaluated by on-site medical personnel and none required off-site medical treatment, Campbell said.Tuesday's warning shot was the third fired at SRCI this year. The others were fired in May and early August, and both were shot to stop inmates from fighting, Campbell said.
The only armed posts at SRCI are in the observation towers and mobile patrol units which circle the rim of the facility, Campbell said.
