The latest altercation at the Lincoln penitentiary, which resulted in a lockdown of the facility, came after the Department of Correctional Services implemented greater control of inmate movement during meals, Smith said Wednesday.
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According to the statement, a group of inmates who had been ordered to return to their housing unit from the dining hall refused to leave a yard.
Despite being told multiple times to disperse and return to the cells, inmates refused to do so.
After the warning shot was sacked, the prison staff was able to return inmates to their cells, and a lockdown of the entire facility began. After a group of inmates gathered and converged on staff, a warning shot was sacked from a tower. At the same time, groups of inmates around the prison “became defiant to staff and verbally aggressive”. Eventually, corrections officers were able to return inmates to their housing units.
The state prison in Lincoln has been locked down.
Rich Cruickshank, the warden at the penitentiary, said that the majority of inmates were cooperative, and at no time during the disturbance was public safety endangered.
The prison will remain on lockdown while the incident is investigated.
“Our mission is “keep people safe”, said state Corrections Director Scott Frakes said in a written statement released by NDCS.
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State prisons have been plagued with overcrowding and shortages of staff in recent years. “I am proud of the staff who managed the situation and pleased to note there were no injuries to staff or inmates during the incident”.
