Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Inmate’s Shooting Appears Justified, State Official Says

Although an investigation into Tuesday’s shooting of an inmate by a guard at the state prison here will take some time to complete, it appears proper procedures were followed, according to the state Department of Corrections.

The state will not release its firearms policy, but William Gengler, a state Department of Corrections spokesman, said guards are permitted to use guns “when absolutely necessary.” An inmate was hit in the foot with a single round from a 9-millimeter rifle Tuesday, said a prison spokesman. The inmate took an “aggressive stance,” refused repeated orders, and was an apparent threat to a guard, said prison officials.

Gengler said guns are used against inmates as a disabling tactic. The intent is not to kill, although there have been inmate deaths at state prisons.

Guards have shot and wounded prisoners three times in the year-old state prison, with the two most recent incidents occurring within a week of one another. Gengler said because the prison in Lancaster houses maximum-security inmates, it is likely additional shootings will occur.

“If you have Level IV (inmates), your chance of having incidents like this increases,” he said. “Because of the level of prison that’s out there (in Lancaster), this could happen again.”

All three of the shooting incidents at the prison in Lancaster have involved maximum-security inmates.

In 1990 and 1991, the most recent statistics available, Gengler said all the guard shootings of inmates occurred at facilities housing Level III and Level IV inmates.

Inmates are classified based on such things as criminal history, mental and physical stability, history of violence and current conviction.

In 1990, there were 28 inmates shot by prison staff, according to state records. In 1991, the number dropped to 26. Although there were about 100,000 inmates at two dozen prisons in both of those years, Gengler said the shootings only occurred at six prisons in 1990 and at five institutions in 1991.

The first incident at the prison in Lancaster involving a guard shooting an inmate occurred Nov. 16, 1993, said spokesman Kenn I. Hicks. Two maximum-security inmates were fighting and failed to follow orders to stop. An officer fired a 9-millimeter rifle, striking one of the inmates in the arm.

An investigation, which is mandatory after all shootings, found that proper procedures were followed, Hicks said.

The second incident, on Feb. 9, also involved a fight between two maximum-security inmates who would not stop on command. One of the inmates was struck by a bullet in the shoulder. The investigation of that incident is pending.

In Tuesday’s incident, convicted robber Eric Hall refused to leave his cell during a routine cell search. He refused verbal commands and also would not leave after being struck on the thigh with a baton or being fired upon by a rifle shooting wooden blocks.