Prison Hostages Say They're OK

Negotiators tried to talk two inmates into freeing a pair of prison guards held hostage in an observation tower Monday for a second day.

The guards sent word that they were not seriously hurt. But authorities would not say whether the inmates had made any demands or threats, and would not disclose whether they were armed or why they were in prison.

"The conversations have never broken off," Cam Hunter, a state Corrections Department spokeswoman. "They're back and forth, and there is a good rhythm going."

Officials said it was unclear whether the standoff resulted from an escape attempt.

The two captives were allowed to speak with negotiators and reported they were not seriously injured, Hunter said.

"It's positive that the inmates allowed us to talk to the officers," Hunter said. "It's assuring for the families, for the correctional officers, for the community."

The incident began about 5 a.m. Sunday when an inmate attacked a guard in the kitchen during breakfast preparations, then met up with another inmate in the prison yard. The two then somehow gained access to the officers' armed tower, said Jim Robideau, another department spokesman.

Two other officers and a staff member were also injured in the incident, officials said, and paramedics took two people from the prison to area hospitals early Sunday.

One of the patients had severe injuries and was transported about 7:30 a.m., Phoenix Fire Department Communications Supervisor Rebecca Dauer told The Arizona Republic. Dauer could not confirm any identities.

The Associated Press could not confirm the condition of those patients.

Hunter said the male correctional officer taken hostage told negotiators he was OK. The other hostage, a female correctional officer, also said she was OK, Hunter said.

The hostages' families were told of the situation, she said.

All other staff and inmates were accounted for Monday, and the rest of the inmates were locked in their cells, authorities said.

Negotiation teams and officers from the Corrections Department, the Department of Public Safety and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were still at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis early Monday.

The medium- to high-security prison, west of Phoenix in Buckeye, houses 4,400 inmates, most convicted of felonies such as manslaughter and aggravated assault.

"Once these inmates get a taste of blood, so to speak, there's no telling what they can do," said Arizona Correctional Peace Officers' Association President Joe Masella, who noted he had no details on the actual situation.

Masella said the prison had been very short staffed at one point but that the situation had been resolved. He said prison staff had done a good job of ensuring no other inmate disturbances occurred after the hostage-taking Sunday.

More than a week ago, the prison was the site of two small fires started after an altercation between two inmates spread unrest among 80 prisoners. Hunter said the two incidents weren't related.

The Corrections Department last dealt with a hostage situation in 1973, when inmates at the prison in Florence killed two prison staff members.
killed two staff members at a state prison in Florence, Hunter said.