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It wasn’t just kitchen workers who refused to go to work (on Wednesday). At the point when this happened, everybody — 185 inmates — refused to go to their programs, their work, their school. At that point, normally, we lock up. But when they went to close the area, the inmates refused to go into their cells.

What happened then?

At that point, we had to call in negotiators. In this case, it broke down very quickly apparently. And they had to send in the Emergency Response Team to close things up in a secure way. It’s a Corrections Canada team. I can’t talk about numbers. They met a lot of resistance. There were shots fired. There were six inmates who were shot with shotgun pellets. There was nothing life threatening. It’s not like what some people think in terms of firing a shotgun directly at somebody. It’s a different technique. But they were able to gain control of the situation and got everybody locked up as quickly as they could. It was done by the end of the evening.

What do we know about the inmate who was killed and the two who were injured?

I don’t know. They looked to have been badly assaulted (by other inmates). It was in the living unit area where the cells are. I have no information. It’s cordoned off as a crime scene right now.

What’s happening right now?

We’re still in the recovery stage, trying to figure out if we have to move people and where. The area where the riot occurred is cleared out. It’s uninhabitable. The inmates have been moved to different areas within the prison. We can double bunk individuals for a temporary time period. They’ll be assessing: do we have to move inmates? How many and for how long? Investigations are going on with the RCMP, Corrections Canada, the coroner. I’m pretty sure the correctional investigator will take a look at this as well.

What’s your assessment of the situation?

Although there was one life lost, we did save several more. Officers that were involved deserve recognition for the jobs they do in these very difficult situations. Riots are one of the most difficult things you come across in your career. They’re unpredictable, extremely stressful. When you come back from the height of the incident, you end up in a position where you think about what you were just involved in. Some individuals need someone to talk to.

Interview has been condensed and edited.

• Email: dquan@postmedia.com | Twitter: dougquan