ANCHORAGE — Inmates protesting an early cell inspection took over a wing of an Alaska maximum security prison for about nine hours and wrecked equipment inside, corrections officials said.<\/p>\n
The protesting prisoners damage fire suppressant systems, plumbing, computer lines and glass.<\/p>\n
“Officials at the prison estimate the damage at roughly $100,000,” Corrections Department spokeswoman Sarah Gallagher said in an email response to questions.<\/p>\n
Seward is a city of 2,500 on Resurrection Bay about 75 miles south of Anchorage.<\/p>\n
Spring Creek Correctional Center was completed in 1988. The prison can house 500 prisoners. The facility has a decentralized campus design, with three “houses” that are separated from the administration complex by a recreation field, according to the department.<\/p>\n
The disturbance occurred at a 64-bed general population unit that houses medium- and close-custody offenders. The unit held 62 inmates Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Prisoners at 9 p.m. barricaded the entry to their section and began destroying property. They were protesting having to wake up for an 8 a.m. cell inspection, Gallagher said.<\/p>\n
“They did not make any demands,” she said.<\/p>\n
Response teams from Kenai and Anchorage arrived about 3 a.m.<\/p>\n
The teams used equipment to break through the barrier created by inmates. No one was injured in the disturbance.<\/p>\n
Inmates were exposed nonlethal chemical agents, Gallagher said. Nurses and other medical staff checked prisoners for injuries, and prisoners were decontaminated.<\/p>\n
Prisoners in the disturbance will face internal discipline, Gallagher said, and possibly additional criminal prosecution as Alaska State Troopers investigate<\/p>\n
“Those offenders involved have been placed in a more restrictive housing environment,” Gallagher said. “No charges have been filed at this time as DOC is still conducting the investigation.”<\/p>\n
\u2022 This is an Associated Press report by Dan Joling.<\/b><\/p>\n
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