by Bob Walsh
The
Chippewa Correctional Facility is operated in the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan by the state. They had a three-inmate fight there Sunday
evening that somehow or other led to an inmate takeover of one housing
unit. The unit houses 240 prisoners.
It
seems that, earlier in the evening, a staff member had occasion to Tase
one of the prisoners to break up a fight. The prisoner did the funky
chicken a bit, was taken off-grounds for evaluation and returned the
same day.
Somehow or
other a lot of prisoner in the unit "left their cells" and approached
the officer's station. At that time there were six staff in the unit.
Those staff members left the unit and the 100 or so prisoners who were
not in their cells took control of the unit and pretty well trashed it.
The unit is now considered unlivable.
Michigan
State Police and the Border Patrol assisted with providing perimeter
security and at about 0400 prison staff re-entered the unit and took
control, locking up the prisoners who were not secured..
The
officer to prisoner ratio at this facility is 9.2 prisoners for one
correctional officer. That is a relative poor ratio for facility
control.
I admit to being
curious about procedures. How was it possible for about 100 prisoners
to "leave their cells" at almost 1030 at night? Something just isn't
right there.
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