The Associated Press
 Watch as riot erupts, fire spreads |
NEW CASTLE, Ind. — A “full-scale riot” broke out Tuesday at a medium-security men’s prison, according to the mayor, and pictures taken from television helicopters showed at least two fires burning in the courtyard.
Indiana Department of Correction spokeswoman Java Ahmed confirmed there was a disturbance at the New Castle Correctional Facility, about 43 miles east of Indianapolis. She said more than one cell house was involved, and two staff members were injured.
The Department of Corrections sent emergency squads and county and state police to the prison. New Castle Mayor Tom Nipp said the entire city police force had also been activated. Helicopter pictures also showed police in riot gear standing outside the prison fence.
The medium-security facility is managed by the GEO Group Inc., based in Boca Raton, Fla., according to the Indiana Department of Corrections Web site.
The prison, built in 2002, can house about 2,200 inmates. It currently has about 1,000 from Indiana and 630 from Arizona.
In March, Arizona and Indiana reached an agreement on housing up to 1,260 Arizona inmates.
The prison housed an average daily population of 450 in 2005, according to the DOC web site. It also has a psychiatric facility that treats inmates who are bused in from other prisons.
GEO Group last year contracted with the Indiana Department of Correction to assume management of the prison.
| Also read: 2 on prison staff injured |