PRISON SHOOTING UNDER INVESTIGATION.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer A Department of Corrections team from Sacramento is investigating a shooting by two prison guards during an inmate brawl brawl n. 1. A noisy quarrel or fight. 2. A loud party. 3. A loud, roaring noise. intr.v. brawled, brawl·ing, brawls 1. To quarrel or fight noisily. 2. at California State Prison-Los Angeles County. One bullet hit an inmate, whose name was not released pending notification of his relatives. Officials said the man was shot in the shoulder. He was treated at a local hospital and returned to prison. ``They're getting ready to pursue a pretty extensive investigation,'' said Lt. Diane Gonzales. ``We've cordoned off the area deemed to be a crime scene.'' The brawl started shortly after 1 p.m. Friday in an exercise yard for medium-security inmates. As many as 500 inmates were gathered in the yard after lunch. Officials said about 50 inmates began fighting and divided themselves along ethnic lines, whites vs. Latinos. One inmate was stabbed, apparently with a makeshift weapon, and another was injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. by a blow to the face. They also were treated at the hospital. Two correctional officers in towers above the yard fired a total of five shots from rifles during the brawl, officials said. Other guards used pepper spray to quell quell tr.v. quelled, quell·ing, quells 1. To put down forcibly; suppress: Police quelled the riot. 2. the fight, and some inmates suffered reactions to the pepper. Numerous inmates who suffered scrapes and bruises Bruises Definition Bruises, or ecchymoses, are a discoloration and tenderness of the skin or mucous membranes due to the leakage of blood from an injured blood vessel into the tissues. Pupura refers to bruising as the result of a disease condition. were treated at the prison. No correctional officers were injured. The correctional officers who fired the shots were automatically placed on paid suspension for 72 hours. Five inmates were placed in solitary confinement solitary confinement n. the placement of a prisoner in a Federal or state prison in a cell away from other prisoners, usually as a form of internal penal discipline, but occasionally to protect the convict from other prisoners or to prevent the prisoner from causing . Other inmates from the section of the prison where the brawl occurred were restricted to their cells under lockdown Lockdown A specified period when an employee of a public company is barred from selling - and occasionally buying - their company's stock. Notes: These types of equity transaction restrictions can be imposed by securities regulators or underwriting firms if a company has conditions. The Department of Corrections deadly force An amount of force that is likely to cause either serious bodily injury or death to another person. Police officers may use deadly force in specific circumstances when they are trying to enforce the law. investigation team began its investigation Saturday after the prison's own team cordoned off the area in a preliminary investigation. The review is expected to last several weeks. Investigators will determine whether the shooting was consistent with the department's policy of using potentially deadly force. The policy was revised in April to give guards less leeway lee·way n. 1. The drift of a ship or an aircraft to leeward of the course being steered. 2. A margin of freedom or variation, as of activity, time, or expenditure; latitude. See Synonyms at room. to fire rifles, after a series of controversial shootings at the state prison in Corcoran. California had been the only state that let prison officers use gunfire to break up inmate fistfights. The new statewide policy allows guards to use deadly force only to defend an employee or an inmate from the immediate threat of death, to prevent an escape or to stop a riot or arson. ``Because it's so preliminary, we don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. whether it was within or outside of our policy at this point,'' Gonzales said about the shooting. ``It's still in the preliminary investigative stages.'' While the fighters divided themselves along ethnic lines, the motive for the fighting remains undetermined, officials said. ``It was definitely racially separated,'' Gonzales said, ``but at this time we don't know if it was racially motivated.'' |
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