LEX18.com - Lexington, KY

Posted: Nov 20, 2009 1:34 PM

Despite previous claims, investigators said Friday that bad food wasn't the primary cause of a fiery riot at a central Kentucky prison in August.
     
The inmates were instead reacting to a partial lockdown when they rioted and set fires that destroyed most of the buildings at Northpoint Training Center in August, investigators said in a 22-page report released Friday afternoon.
     
Prisoners started fires in trash cans that eventually spread, seriously damaging several buildings at the medium-security facility near Burgin about 30 miles south of Lexington on Aug. 21.
     
Officers in riot gear rushed in with tear gas, and all inmates were subdued within two hours. Eight inmates were taken to nearby hospitals and eight prison workers were treated at the scene. No one was killed.
     
The damage to the prison, which opened in 1983, was so severe that some 700 inmates had to be transferred to other lockups around the state.
     
The interviews with the inmates determined that there was a general concern about the quality of food and the price of canteen items," investigators said in the report. "However, the majority of the inmates stated that neither food service nor canteen prices was a primary cause for the disturbance."
     
The investigation was conducted by state parole board member Larry Chandler, retired state corrections commissioner Tom Campbell, retired state prison administrator Tommie Lipscomb and Justice Cabinet attorney Wesley Duke.
     
Corrections officer Matt Hughes had told lawmakers earlier this month that he believed inmates rioted and set fire to buildings because they were upset over the quality and quantity of their food rations. One lawmaker plans to sponsor legislation when the General Assembly convenes in January to improve the food service in Kentucky prisons.
     
Investigators also said the vast majority of staffers and inmates interviewed also didn't think racial tensions were to blame.
     
"Although there were black inmates, white inmates, and Hispanic inmates involved in the incident, the staff and inmates interviewed thought that race was a moot issue," they said.
     
Investigators said the prison was placed under partial lockdown after a fight, involving weapons, between about 10 Hispanic inmates and two others, one black and one white, who had stolen canteen items from one of the Hispanics. Weapons weren't uncommon at Northpoint, based on investigators findings. Corrections officers had found 34 makeshift weapons in the prison between January and August.
     
After the fight, inmates were restricted to their living areas and weren't immediately permitted in the gym or the prison yard. They were, however, allowed to watch television, listen to music, play video games, use the telephone, visit smoking areas and move freely in their wings of the dormitories.
     
"The inmate interviews revealed that most of the inmates attributed the modified lockdown and controlled movement as the causes for the disturbance," the investigators concluded. "Many of the inmates believed the modified lockdown was a punishment instead of a method to ensure safety."
     
The investigators praised the work of the Northpoint staff and the emergency response team that responded the night of the riot.
     
"Together these men and women neutralized over 1,200 angry inmates without loss of life or serious injury," they said in the report.
     
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)