Excessive security, drugs & assaults triggered riot at Arizona’s Kingman private prison
A riot suppression operation at a private prison near Kingman, Arizona, last July was even more violent than the riot itself, with SWAT-style officers beating even completely incapacitated inmates, alleges a report by the American Friends Service Committee.
Disturbances at 3,500-bed Kingman prison (opened in 2004) emerged on July 1, 2015, and lasted whole two days, leaving six prison guards injured. It took 96 members of Arizona Department of Corrections’ special Tactical-Support Unit (TSU) Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) to quash revolt, after which 1,168 prisoners had to be transferred to other penal facilities because Kingman prison premises were badly damaged. …
A new report from the American Friends Service Committee adds disturbing details unknown to the general public how unrest could be settled in a privately-owned American prison.
The report claims that “there were no altercations among prisoners” and “by most accounts, it is clear that the riots were motivated by prisoner frustration with MTC’s management,” whereas Kingman’s persistent problem is understaffing.
The committee collected evidence of the eyewitnesses of the 2015 riot, who claim that the riot suppression was “unnecessarily violent and disrespectful,” the prisoners being beaten on backs and bellies, “to the point where prisoners who were completely incapacitated were still being beaten, tased and shot with rubber bullets.” Some prisoners were beaten by a tactical support unit after the riot was effectively over. …
… After that the prisoners were ordered on the floor, and then they were all handcuffed and led outside. The beating of the tied prisoners continued even after that.
“… even though everyone was already on the floor and on their stomachs they still kicked us, beat us and shot us with their weapons.”
One of the witnesses of the riot testified that prisoners were severely beaten for disobedience while in fact their guilt was minor if none: some of them didn’t speak English and were not responding when addressed to, others were mercilessly beaten for complaining over being handcuffed too tight or simply exemplarily.
“Each man that was brought out was beaten and abused physically and verbally. The kid that was kicked in the face had his eye socket busted. His eye swelled up so bad he couldn’t see out of it for three days.” …
Throughout the article RT links to 7 other stories about prisons, including slave labor for personal profit, sexual assaults and “abuse culture” resulting in 346 inmate deaths. I’ve heard about the Florida situation, unbelievable. One guy got killed by guards who set the water to HOT in the shower and then kept the guy under the hot water until he died from the burns.
And that is called a “civilized” country.
