Maxwell: Prison incident was not serious

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 9, 2003

FERRIDAY, La. &045; Two officers received minor injuries and one prisoner was subdued with a tazer in what Sheriff Randy Maxwell described as a &uot;minor incident&uot; Sunday at Concordia Parish Correctional Facility II.

&uot;About 10 or 12 inmates were involved&uot; in a fight that took place late Sunday afternoon, Maxwell said later Sunday afternoon.

&uot;It started when the prisoners were called out Š to recreation time. We don’t yet what started it &045; it’s still under investigation.&uot;

Email newsletter signup

Two corrections officers, whose names were not available as of press time, were transported from the facility on Louisiana 15 outside Ferriday to Riverland Medical Center.

&uot;They had scrapes and bruises, that’s all. It’s mostly to get them checked out,&uot; Maxwell said.

Maxwell added that no inmates were seriously injured, including an inmate who was stunned with a tazer.

The incident happened around shift change, so two shifts of officers were available to help quell the incident, which was over in a matter of minutes, Maxwell said.

As of Sunday night, the dorm where the inmates in question were housed was under lockdown &uot;just to tone the place down a bit,&uot; Maxwell said.

As for the prisoners involved, they will be charged with assaulting officers, although Maxwell could not say as of Sunday how much additional prison time the inmates could face.

In all, 400 inmates are located at Correctional Facility II, Maxwell said.