Prisoners stage riot in Indiana
Indiana Department of Correction spokeswoman Java Ahmed said more than one cell house was involved in the disturbance at the New Castle Correctional Facility, about 43 miles east of Indianapolis.
Correction Commissioner J. David Donahue said the riot began after a group of inmates from Arizona took off their shirts in the prison's recreation area to show staff they wouldn't comply with orders. They had been told to keep the shirts on.
Donahue said he has delayed the transfer of another 600 inmates from Arizona until authorities can reassess the condition of the prison.
"This system is different than what they are accustomed to," Donahue said.
Some of the newly arrived inmates had complained about a lack of recreation and other programs, said Trina Randall, a spokeswoman for GEO Group Inc., the company based in Boca Raton, Fla., that manages the prison.
Helicopter pictures showed officers in riot gear standing outside the prison fence and at least two fires burning in the courtyard.
Authorities secured the prison perimeter and confirmed that no inmates escaped, although some were still out of their cells, Indiana State Police Sgt. Rod Russell said. All staff members were accounted for.
Authorities did not release the conditions of the two injured staff members, though Donahue said neither suffered serious injuries. One man was knocked down by inmates in the courtyard, Donahue said. He did know how the other person was injured.
Five inmates were treated for effects of tear gas that authorities used to quell the disturbance, Randall said. Two other inmates suffered minor cuts, she said.
The prison, built in 2002, can house about 2,200 inmates. It currently has about 1,000 prisoners from Indiana and 630 from Arizona.
In March, Arizona and Indiana reached an agreement on housing up to 1,260 Arizona inmates.
Arizona Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katie Decker said at least some of the transferred inmates had complained about being moved, a step her agency said was necessary because of the state's shortage of prison space.
"They're obviously resentful because they had to leave the state," she said, adding that it was too early to say whether the transfers played any role in the riot.
Decker said the inmates sent to New Castle were "carefully picked" before being transferred and could have "no predisposition to violence."
The prison housed an average daily population of 450 in 2005, according to the DOC web site. It also has a psychiatric facility that treats inmates who are bused in from other prisons.
GEO Group last year contracted with the Indiana Department of Correction to assume management of the prison.
Associated Press writers Bob Christie in Phoenix and Ken Kusmer in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
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