San Fernando Valley : Turnout Low for Prison Guard Protest

Many movies have been made about prison protests, but it’s safe to say Hollywood will not be calling any time soon about this one.

Guards at the California State Prison in Lancaster staged a demonstration outside the facility Tuesday to protest budget cuts and some prison policies.

Organizers had hoped to get about 100 guards to protest, but about two dozen showed up.

Warden Ernest Roe took the poor turnout as a sign that most of the prison’s officers like their jobs.

“I have over 600 correctional officers here, and I see the count out there is certainly a diminished representation of that,” he said.

But the officers who did participate were serious about the issues they wanted to publicize. Budget cuts, they said, have lowered the ratio of staff to inmates. And they dislike pending policies concerning the use of bean-bag ammunition to break up fights.

Prison officer Ron Credle, 48, carried a sign that read: “What’s next, Nerf balls?”