Ducey calls for investigation of Kingman prison riot

KINGMAN --Gov. Doug Ducey called for a "full-scale investigation" into what caused days of unrest at a private prison after a tour Sunday of the riot-ravaged facility outside Kingman.

"The governor wants to know what led to the incident and what needs to be done moving forward," said Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato. "The focus is getting the facts in this case."

Ducey's tour of the private prison came after order was restored with the aid of 96 members of the Arizona Department of Corrections' special tactical-support unit.

The unrest that began Wednesday has left many housing units at Arizona State Prison Complex-Kingman uninhabitable, according to Scarpinato, and forced the transfer of more than 1,000 inmates.

Before Ducey arrived around 10 a.m. Sunday with Corrections Director Charles Ryan, state correctional employees wearing military fatigues and bulletproof vests — and carrying rifles, tear-gas equipment and batons — were seen leaving and entering the prison, which is operated by Utah-based Management & Training Corp.

Local law-enforcement officers were deployed Saturday to guard the private prison's perimeter late into the night to ensure there were no escapes.

UNREST AT KINGMAN PRISON

Nine prison staff members and seven inmates were injured during the riots, said Department of Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder.

The prison is about 20 miles west of Kingman, and the complex can easily be seen from Interstate 40.

Wilder said Sunday that the state is removing 1,055 medium-security inmates — up from an original estimate of 700 — because of damage done to prison living units and for "inmate management." About a third of the medium-security population will remain, records show.

State and private-prison officials had yet to disclose the cause of the riots. Issa Arnita, a Management & Training Corp. spokesman, said the inmates will return once the facility is repaired.

The 1,055 inmates will be sent to other state facilities, county jails or private prisons, according to Wilder.

Arnita added that Management & Training Corp. will reimburse the state for all costs incurred during the riots.

This month's unrest is the latest in a string of problems at the Golden Valley prison, which opened in 2004. The facility, which houses about 3,500 minimum- and medium-custody inmates, has had several high-profile security breaches in recent years.

In January, an inmate serving time on drug convictions was beaten to death.

In 2010, three inmates escaped and killed an Oklahoma couple vacationing in New Mexico. The inmates were caught and received new prison sentences.

Events of the past week likely will intensify the debate over Arizona's use of private prisons.

Ducey, a Republican, and the Legislature have pushed for more private facilities to ease inmate overcrowding, but critics say private prisons are costly to taxpayers and their managers are motivated by profit instead of public safety.

The state will begin accepting bids July 22 to add 1,000 medium-security beds in the 2016 fiscal year, which began Wednesday, plus an additional 1,000 the next year, pending legislative approval.

A medium-security inmate has been deemed to represent a moderate threat to the public and staff. Those inmates are not allowed to operate outside the safe perimeter of a prison and are permitted only limited, controlled movement inside any institution.

Caroline Isaacs, an outspoken critic of private prisons and Arizona director of the American Friends Service Committee, said the recent disturbances at the Management & Training Corp. facility show the private-prison operator is ill-equipped to house inmates.

"This is clearly a management issue. If I had to wager, most of the problems in for-profit prisons are related to staffing, and most staffs are new, undertrained and they don't pay their guards well," Isaacs said in a phone interview Sunday. "This is a critical time for the state's leadership to stop and take a very good, long, hard look at what we are doing in corrections in this state."

Arnita, of Management & Training Corp., said the disturbances had nothing to do with staffing.

"Operating prisons comes with inherent challenges. Sometimes inmates, for various reasons, will attempt to cause disturbances," said Arnita, who added that staff members are well-trained.

Scarpinato, the governor's spokesman, declined to comment about whether the state will continue to add private prisons. He said the focus Sunday was to make sure inmates were held behind bars. Wilder declined to comment, saying the use of private prisons is a decision for the Legislature and the governor.

Problems at the Kingman-area prison began Wednesday when a small group of inmates attempted to harm another inmate in the adjoining minimum-security Cerbat Unit.

The next day, inmates in the medium-security Hualapai Unit were "non-compliant and caused significant damage" in two housing areas, Management & Training Corp. said in a statement released Sunday.

On Saturday, inmates in the remaining three Hualapai housing units caused additional disturbances and damage, according to the company.

"We are currently assessing the damage to the housing units to determine if additional offenders will need to be temporarily relocated until repairs can be made. The motive for these disturbances is still under investigation," the company said.

The DOC spokesman reiterated that contrary to some bloggers' reports, there were no escapes and no inmates breached the prison's perimeter during the weekend riots.

Residents in Kingman had mixed views on the prison situation.

"They have had their problems and issues," said Ron Monerief Sr., who was shopping at the Kingman Walmart. "It's just stupid."

Monerief added that some local residents think twice about applying for work at the private prison because of the problems.

But Brian Melton, who also was shopping, said the prison company and local officials had the situation under control.

"No one escaped," Melton said. "That's a plus."