From The
Idiot Factor:
Just recently I heard about the
incident at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, at their maximum-security
prison. It amounted to a group of prisoners refusing to go back to their cells
after being in a "common area of the prison." I have a nephew who
works as a guard at that prison so I was quite concerned. He was not hurt. His
mother was giving us updates on Facebook as to his status.
Whether this was an actual riot,
disturbance or some other type of event is hard to say. What ever it was lasted
for several hours. For a while some people were releasing statements to the
press that there were weapons held by prisoners. So far, the officials of El
Dorado Correction Facility have said there were no weapons by the prisoners.
But there is a lot of distrust among those who have relatives in the prison or working
there. Maybe there were weapons and maybe other violations occurred—But until we know more...officially it was a relatively non
violent event.
According to The Wichita Eagle, a few days ago:
"Internal radio traffic at the
prison indicated that “the gym, the yard, the Special Security Team office and
the kitchen are all under inmate control right now,” (Robert) Choromanski said
in another email. “They are refusing to vacate the area.”
So far I have not seen any reports as
to why the inmates refused to return to their cells. Where there any demands?
Where they just testing out the resolve of those running the prison? I have yet
to see any answers.
There is one thing we can tell from all
of this—as with the school system, the Kansas
Legislature and our idiot governor have not adequately funded this institution.
And we can ascertain that other prison facilities either are or will be facing
similar problems in the near future.
Last year the The Topeka Capital Journal reported that:
"(Sam) Brownback himself is developing a budget proposal, but he
has divulged few details.
Lawmakers and the governor must find a
way to eliminate a $350 million shortfall in the current fiscal year,
which runs through June.
State leaders need to account for a
projected decrease in revenue of more than $580 million in the next fiscal
year."
The main problem here is that the
governor and his allies are short changing the prison systems just as they did
with the school systems.
According to KAKE's Greg Miller:
"they believe approximately 120
positions are open at the facility. That number had doubled since April. Other
employees site low morale, ineffective leadership and dangerous practices for
so many resignations.
Family members of those employees inside
the facility Thursday had gathered at a private parking lot across the street.
Many of them said there have been several incidents at the prison in the last
few weeks, and that they're worried about safety for guards."
That indicates that some of the
problems may be local. There is little doubt that this also occurs from the
dreadful under spending at the state level for paying people for dangerous jobs
that are required for the safety and benefit of our local citizens. No matter
what anyone thinks of our laws or prison institutions none of us are safe with
underfunded and understaffed prisons.
And if the local officials at this
facility are unfit for the job, they need to be replaced for the benefit of all
of us.
UPDATE!
From KWCH:
The KDOC says it "will conduct a review of the event and
take actions as necessary to prevent further incidents in the future."
_____
UPDATE (3:40 p.m.) - The Kansas Department of Corrections
reports that inmates who refused to return to their cells Thursday morning have
been contained and "measures to return to normal are underway" at the
El Dorado Correctional Facility.
The entrance to the facility remains blocked off, as it has for
most of the day. The Kansas Department of Corrections say the facility is
secure, but has not said if the situation inside the prison is under control.
We’ve seen internal communication notes from prison staff which
seems to indicate people did get hurt, but prison officials deny that, saying
there were no injuries to employees or inmates.
El Dorado prison is secure. Refusal to
return to cells is contained. Measures to return to normal underway. KDOC will
then review incidents
— KS Corrections
(@KSCorrections) June 29, 2017
------
UPDATE-- 2:40 p.m.: We have learned that Governor Sam
Brownback's office has been made aware of the ongoing situation at the El
Dorado Correctional Facility. The only information provided by the Kansas
Department of Corrections is in the statement below, saying it started Thursday
morning when a group of inmates refused to return to their cells and that there
were no reports of injuries to inmates nor staff.
The Kansas Department of Corrections says the staff at El Dorado
includes 310 uniformed positions out of 425 authorized positions.
Earlier this week, we told you about
plans to move 150
maximum-security mental health inmates from the Larned Correctional Mental
Health Facility (LCMHF) to El Dorado. and
that this move comes despite the El Dorado prison being about 90 employees
short.
------
UPDATE-- 2:30 p.m.: A Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman
released the following statement Thursday afternoon, updating the situation at
the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
On Thursday morning, a group of
offenders at El Dorado Correctional Facility refused to return to their
assigned cell houses. No incidents of violence have occurred, and there have
been no injuries to offenders or staff. The facility is secure, and measures to
return the offenders to the cell houses are ongoing. KDOC will then conduct a
review of the incidents.
Again, there have been no injuries and no acts of violence, and the facility is secure.
Again, there have been no injuries and no acts of violence, and the facility is secure.
-----
We have received several phone calls and emails about extra
activity at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
.A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Corrections says at
this time, he has no information to pass along about the situation.
We also have a crew at the prison that reports a majority of
vehicles approaching the property have been turned away.
Stay tuned on-air and online for updates.
KDOC confirms inmates won't go back in
their cells at El Dorado prison. Hearing from others the
situation is "very bad." Working to confirm. pic.twitter.com/cqRZIeaNWQ
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