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Thursday, June 05, 2008

Officials Mum on Jail Fight

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
      After a fight broke out between inmates at the Torrance County Detention Facility jail officials are not offering much information.
    On May 12 just before 2 p.m. there was “an inmate-on-inmate altercation between male inmates” from the U.S. Marshal's Service in the west recreation yard, said Ivonne Riley, quality assurance manager, in an written statement.
    The Estancia correctional facility receives prisoners from several different agencies, including from the U.S. Marshal's Service in Albuquerque.
    “There were no significant injuries. No one was rushed to the hospital. No staff were hurt. Everyone complied when they were told to get down,” Riley said in a phone interview.
    Jail officials would not comment on specifics of the incident, such as how many prisoners were involved, how the incident started, how many guards were involved or how often fights occur at the facility. The Torrance County Detention Facility is a private prison owned by Corrections Corporation of America.
    The inmates involved in the May 12 fight were seen by medical staff. Two inmates were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries and returned to the jail later that same day, according to Riley's statement.
    The inmates involved in the fight were placed in a segregation unit where they will be confined in a cell for 23 out of 24 hours each day and separated from the rest of the population, Riley said.
    Because the fight was “not a major fight and only one person” who was transported received three stitches, the sheriff's department was not called, said Undersheriff Heath White.
    “In a case like that when both parties refuse to cooperate (and) because it was so minor, that's why we were not notified. It was handled in house at the CCA. (No inmate) will give a statement of who started it or what it was about. (The inmates) won't say what really happened,” White said.
    If there had been narcotics involved or great bodily harm, the sheriff's office would have been notified, White said.
    The cause of the fight is under investigation and will be reported to the marshal's service, Riley's statement said.
    “We have a really good working relationship with the CCA. When something (comes up) of a criminal matter, they will notify us,” White said.
    Warden Robert Ezell would not comment further.
   

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