Smoking ban imposed after Ky. prison riot
BURGIN, Ky. - BURGIN, Ky. (AP) — A top state public safety official said he found some buildings nearly gutted, with windows shattered, computer equipment and light fixtures slammed against walls and toilets destroyed, when he inspected a central Kentucky prison Monday in the aftermath of a riot.
Justice and Public Safety Secretary J. Michael Brown said the damage at the Northpoint Training Center is so severe, he expects several buildings will have to be torn down and rebuilt.
"While it may look like the walls are standing, I'm not an engineer, but I understand just the heat from that can cause structural cracks," Brown said. "I believe most of (the buildings) will have to be razed, and we'll have to start from scratch."
Officials banned smoking — at least temporarily — after the Friday riot and were forced to relocate more than half of the facility's 1,200 prisoners.
About 700 prisoners were moved out of the medium-security facility about 30 miles south of Lexington.
About 200 were sent to the Marion Adjustment Center in St. Mary. About 500 remained at Northpoint inside a 196-bed dorm that was not severely damaged, the prison chapel, gymnasium and a unit of 60 single cells.
Officials were trying to determine which parts of the Northpoint prison could continue to operate. Brown said he hoped at least two dorms there would be suitable for inmates later in the week.
Eight inmates were hospitalized and eight guards had minor injuries, including one who was hit in the face with a rock. Only two inmates remained hospitalized Sunday, in stable condition after complaining of chest pains. Their conditions were not available Monday.
Brown found it amazing there were no fatalities or serious injuries considering the extent of the damage.
"This came as close to a miracle as you can get, particularly if you see the photographs of the flames and the smoke coming up, Brown said.
He said the prison had allowed smoking — including matches — in designated outdoor areas, but that policy was lifted after several fires were set Friday during the riot. Many Kentucky prisons were going to a smoking ban anyway, Brown said. He wasn't sure what longer-term impact the riot would have on Northpoint's rules.
Not all the prisoners were involved in the riot, and Brown said it was difficult to separate the guilty parties from the innocent.
"In that situation in the dark, in a fire, it would be hard to tell who was doing the good stuff and who was doing the bad stuff," Brown said.
He said 34 staff members were working at the prison at the time of the riot. He said that was a typical staff level. Hundreds more arrived later, many bringing disposable handcuffs to subdue the prisoners.
Meanwhile, investigators were still looking into the cause of the disturbance — including whether racial tensions may have triggered it.
Kentucky Justice Cabinet spokeswoman Jennifer Brislin said Northpoint been put under lockdown after a fight between white and Hispanic inmates last Tuesday. That lockdown had been eased to allow inmates access to the prison yard Friday, before the riot started.
"They're not labeling it racially motivated at this point," Brislin said.
However, investigators are taking a closer look at whether the fight contributed to the riot, Brislin said. Authorities were reviewing security tapes and interviewing inmates.
Northpoint opened in 1983 and has a staff of 285.
Republican state Sen. Tom Buford and Rep. Mike Harmon, whose central Kentucky districts include the prison, said they expect a legislative review of the riot.
"We would welcome a legislative review of how Northpoint was handled," Brislin said. "I think if anything, it shows that over the past 48 hours, that we have the right plan, the right equipment, the right personnel and frankly the right people on the ground to take care of it. It was an incredibly serious situation, but it could have been a lot worse."
The melee came two weeks after more than 1,000 inmates rioted at the California Institution for Men in Southern California.
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Associated Press Writer Roger Alford in Frankfort, Ky., contributed to this report.
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