11 Prison Guards Injured in Attack by 60 Inmates Over Strip-Search
About 60 inmates who refused to be strip-searched at High Desert State Prison in Susanville launched an attack on prison workers Monday, sending 11 to the hospital, officials said.
“They were trying to get as much blood as they could,” said Mark Viale, chapter head of the prison officers union. “They were trying to kill people. It was a full-blown riot.”
Prisoners attacked after officers put down a fistfight between two white inmates in a prison yard, said Lt. Chuck Spirk, the prison spokesman.
Officers who broke up the fight discovered two weapons made by inmates, Spirk said, and ordered an immediate strip-search of about 150 inmates in the yard to try to find more weapons.
The 11 officers taken to the hospital were released after treatment for minor to moderate injuries, Spirk said. About 10 inmates were treated for injuries.
The attackers belonged to rival Los Angeles-area street gangs that normally don’t associate with each other, authorities said.
Monday’s attack was the worst in California’s system since May 5, 1995, when five inmates stabbed five officers at Calipatria State Prison.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
