Does anyone have inside information about the riot that happened in the Buckley Unit yesterday - Firday? He is on restriction until the end of May so I can't get visits or phone calls so I don't know what is going on. Plus, does your mail take forever from this place?? No matter what day he writes, it is always mailed on Saturday. Ticks me off. I wish I knew more as to what was going on. Zoe

I just posted a similar thread. My husband is on Buckley and I saw it on the news. Ariana said there is another thread w/ info. on this. Where the h** is it?

Disturbance over at Lewis prison

Posted: 05/07/2004 – 15:18:15

(Phoenix-AP) -- The Arizona Department of Corrections that the Lewis state prison near Buckeye was put on lockdown because of a disturbance that involved approximately 100 inmates but that is now over.

Department spokeswoman Cam Hunter says the 100 inmates refused to leave an exercise yard after a fight between two inmates and that an officer was pelted with water bottles and a rock when he tried to break up the fight.

She says the officer was hit in the face with a rock but did not require hospitalization.

Hunter says armed officers eventually got the inmates to lie down on the ground so they could be handcuffed, led out of the exercise yard and put in isolation pending an investigation to identify the instigators.

Hunter says Lewis' other inmates were put in lockdown in their cells so officers from other units can help with the situation.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

9 inmates held in prison standoff
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100 stay in yard following fight

Judi Villa
The Arizona Republic
May. 8, 2004 12:00 AM


Nine inmates at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis are being investigated for instigating a confrontation between inmates and corrections officers on Friday. The incident forced authorities to lock down the facility near Buckeye.

About 100 inmates refused to leave a recreation yard for two hours on Friday after a fight between two convicts. Another 50 inmates refused to leave the chow hall.

When a corrections officer tried to break up the fight on the yard, inmates threw rocks and water bottles at him, said Cam Hunter, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.

An officer in the tower then used a "stinger" in an attempt to control the crowd, Hunter said.

Stinger rounds are similar to buckshot but are made of hard rubber rather than metal. Hunter said the inmates did not riot, but they still refused orders to lie down in the yard.

"We have non-compliance," Hunter said, "and they have to be compliant."

Prison officials had to call in the Designated Armed Response Team to force the inmates in the Buckley Unit to comply with orders. When the teams arrived, the inmates followed orders to sit and then lie down, Hunter said. They were handcuffed and returned to their cells.

No injuries were reported.

Buckley is a medium-high security facility that houses inmates who have committed violent crimes or whose behavior is problematic.

The inmates identified as instigators have been placed in isolation. Hunter said they would be transferred to the Eyman complex in Florence, which houses the state's most dangerous inmates.

Visitation will be canceled today for the Buckley Unit, Hunter said. Visitors will be allowed on Sunday except for the 150 inmates who refused to comply with orders on Friday.

The Lewis facility was the site of a 15-day hostage standoff in January during which two inmates gained control of the tower on a different yard, the Morey Unit, and held two corrections officers captive.

from aznews central

Sh**. I pray my husband wasn't involved. I caught some of this on the news. Thank you so much, arriana, for getting me the information. Please PM me or post here, if you hear anything new on this. I won't hear from my husband until I get back from out of town!!

if they put on anything more I will post it.. but I doubt they will as they rarely do much follow through
election years are weird
thank goodness I do not live in az , it is a hard state I swear

Always so #$mn frustrating. I know he was moved a week ago from the blue unit at Buckley to the red unit. I wish I knew if he was in the yard that day. I don't understand what all this unit and color crap means.....I got tow letters from him yesterday, but of course before any of this went down.

Hey girls, the difference in the colors is the levels of the yards if your allowed certain privilages etc then your on the blue side the other is the more locked down bad boy side. I still have a few connections in there and might be able to get some inside info. If i do I will surely let you all know. My mail was the same way when it came from there always seemed to go out on sat or mon. Believe me they are really lazy in that mail room I know a few who work there. I think you all know that my guy got moved to Florence North unit last week, after 70 long days in lock down. It took DOnna the Prison Activist to call the Big Boys and ask how come? 2days latter they rolled him up and out. But they put him in the tents and told him not to breath wrong or go to CB6. They just can't seem to get over this I just don't understand it. I also found out that one of my other friends who also worked in the store with me got shipped to Diamonback Ok. He has been writing me too and only has 9 months or so left he said he was really suprised to be moved, j ust another DOC ploy. He likes it there tho he says the staff is friendlier and 2 man rooms. So we will see. Tanke care all.

Ladyd - could you explain to me the difference here about Buckley, because I can't seem to figure it out.....There are four units 1, 2, 3, and 4? - then there is the blue and the red? then I hear about A, B, C, D or different pods? Are there like two buildings - a red building and a blue building - and then there are four hallways (units) in each of the color buildings? I'm trying to picture it in my mind. It just seems really confusing....

I found out he was part of the cafeteria bunch that wouldn't return so they are on lockdown. I know he fears riots, but I don't see how you stay away from it in prison. It seems if you don't do what everyone else does you are screwed anyway by the other inmates. Sigh.....

Hey you bet lets see 1st there are 4 pods that is the different bldgs.They call them 1-4 and they are on each side, blue and red thr yard is split in half by a fence and the tower,it's like a huge walkway in between the yards that is enclosed in concertina wire. It starts at the Admin bldg and runs all the way to the chow hall, this is so if staff have to come in with weapons and such with out the fear of a take over they have the wire in the middle. They lable the sides red and blue 1 is always the higher custody level or more lock down and that is the red side, the blue usually has earned there way down a bit and has some more freedom. In the middle of each side are the yards fenced in for recreation. The abc you hear about are the seperate sections inside the bldgs, they have Dorm 1 pod a cell 16 or whatever. The lower custody yards where i came from have 6 total blgs, 3 on the blue which is min custody and 3 on the red which was med custody inside each bldg they were dorms with runs A-F with 22 inmates in each run and a centeral area that was the Main control area for staff and a day room for the inmates. Buckly being a higher level has all 2 man cells and closed locked doors with a trap to open to cuff them up before they bring them out to shower, on the red side the blue has a little more roaming freedome to and from showers with out cuffs. They have a 2 level tier inside the bldgs with usually about 50 cells on each side the A side and the B side then you stay in the same bldg and go over a little and you have the next group of cells there are 3 in some and 4 in others each like it's own seperate little area. They are all monitored and controled in each bldg by a glass enclosed officers pod with all the controls on a computer pannel to open and shut doors water lights etc. But in actuality there are no colors to see just the object so they know which side is which. Hope this helps some and yes it is confusing. I am sorry to hear he was in the chow hall he will most probably end up being moved to a more locked down prison. that is what happened to the guyslast time when i worked the riot over there. I know you gotta stand by and sink or swim it really sucks esp. if you are trying to change your life around. Bless you girl and keep the chin up. Debi

I sure hope they don't move him - I don't see how they can move all 150 inmates. the paper said the 9 instigators. I guess wait and see. It makes me sick to my stomach, he doesn't want any part of this crap, he just wants to be left alone to do his time. God this makes me sick. Thank you for your info. But it sure seems that once they are in the system, they can never get out.

Debi,

Thanks so much for the detailed info. I had wondered about that, but not thought to ask.
FYI on my husband - he is on Buckley red & was out at Rec. during the riot. He said he had to lay facedown on the asphalt for 4-5 hours and has burns on his chest, even though he had a shirt on. It doesn't seem like he really had the option to go inside when it all went down. He was just told to lay down flat & he did. He called me last Wednesday & told me all this, so I don't think he had any consequences other than being on lockdown until Wednesday.

Yvonne, I know mine was in the chow hall, I hope the only consequence was lockdown. My biggest concern is that he will get another major violation and get more time with loss of privileges (which he has now)! I miss him and my visits and calls so much! I'm really glad to hear that nothing happened to your guy other than a burnt chest. Why the heck did they have to stay out 4 to 5 hours. That sounds like abuse. I hate that place so much! Does your mail take forever? His never gets mailed until Friday or Saturday of each week.

My husband gets mail without $$ in it within 3 days, usually, but sometimes he gets them out of order. We number all our letters, so we know what's up. I have gotten a letter back, though. One for tattoo art, which was simply a graphic of a woman, and they have let all my other graphics through.
I like my husband being on non-contact, lock down, because that means he stays out of trouble. Other than the frequent lockdowns, I haven't had any trouble with Lewis Prison.

Another FYI - I got a letter from my husband explaining the ordeal in detail. He said it all started from 2 guys fighting, others surrounding throwing bottles at the guards when they came in, and the others in chow or on the yard being told to lay down when it was all popping off. He said that guns were fired w/ rubber bullets, but he wasn't hit & couldn't see what was happening 'cause he was lying face down.
What's the next problem going to be?
Every time he doesn't call I worry that there's another riot, lockdown, or he has been transfered. I hate this.

Thanks for the update. I know what you mean about not calling. I'm so frustrated because he is on restriction and can't call. Plus like I said, his letters only get mailed out once a week so I only get them on Saturday or Monday. I hope I get something this weekend about it. I know he doesn't want to be involved in any of this but if you don't go with the crowd you're screwed anyway. You have a good point about being in lockdown, at least they can't get into trouble. It's a never ending worry, isn't it.