Wow - 3 Riots in 5 years. - When will the next one be?

Massive riot erupts at CIM (Chino Institute for Men)
Inland Daily Bulletin ^ | 12/31/2006 | Jannise Johnson

Posted on Sunday, December 31, 2006 4:16:26 AM by radar101

CHINO - Dozens of inmates were injured, one of them seriously, during a riot Saturday morning at California Institution for Men in Chino. Prison officers at about 9:25 a.m. confronted inmates involved in a melee at Reception Center-West, a medium security portion of the prison, according to a prison official.

The inmates in the massive fight were from four modules, which each house approximately 200 inmates.

The cause of the fight is still under investigation, but Lt. Mark Hargrove, a prison spokesman, said he believed "two inmates began fighting and it just flashed up from there."

Prison officers used pepper spray and non-lethal impact weapons, which included shooting tear gas cannisters and small wooden blocks, to get the inmates to disperse, Hargrove said

The fighting was quashed within two hours, Hargrove said.

"All the housing units are contained. We have full control, it never spilled out of the units," he said.

About 51 inmates were injured, including at least 24 that were treated at the prison's hospital and 27 that were sent to area hospitals.

Three inmates had to be airlifted to trauma centers for treatment.

The inmate that was most seriously injured suffered trauma to the head and puncture wounds to the back.

Conditions of the injured inmates were not immediately available.

No prison staff members were injured, but one officer was temporarily overcome by pepper spray, he said.

Officials at the prison were investigating the incident Saturday evening, specifically the number of inmates that were involved. Approximately 800 inmates are in the four housing units, but they may not have all been involved.

The damage to the prison itself was also being assessed.

"They broke out most of the windows in the housing units," said Hargrove, who added that doors were also damaged.

Ruben Guerrero, battalion chief of the Chino Valley Fire District, said 21 firefighters responded to the prison to treat and transport those injured to a local hospital.

Chino, Fontana, and Ontario police officers as well as Chino Hills and Rancho Cucamonga sheriff's deputies assisted with traffic control on the perimeter of the prison.

In September 2005, more than 200 inmates rioted in the prison's Reception Center-East. The fracas was contained by correctional staff, but not before two staff members had to be rescued from potentially dangerous situations, including one who was forced to barricade himself inside an office.