Associated Press
BUCKEYE, Ariz. -- Authorities continued negotiating Monday to free two state corrections officers taken hostage when a pair of inmates got into their observation tower.
The two captive officers were allowed to speak with negotiators and reported they were not seriously injured, said Cam Hunter, a state Department of Corrections spokeswoman.
“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.”
Authorities declined to say whether the inmates made demands, explaining they didn’t want to give a voice to the prisoners and jeopardize negotiations.
The emergency began Sunday morning in the prison kitchen, when one inmate attacked a guard during breakfast preparations. The inmate then met up with another inmate in the prison yard, and the two gained access to the tower.
Two other officers and a staff member were injured by the inmates. Hunter could not confirm the extent of the injuries, but Phoenix Fire Department Communications Supervisor Rebecca Dauer said one person was severely hurt. All other staff and inmates were accounted for. The rest of the inmates were locked in their cells, authorities said.
Talks were progressing, despite the length of the negotiations, Hunter said. “The conversations have never broken off,” she said. “They’re back and forth, and there is a good rhythm going.”
Authorities declined to say whether food and other supplies were brought to the tower. “The safety of the hostages is paramount,” Hunter said. “We can’t say anymore.”
The medium- to high-security Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis, west of Phoenix in Buckeye, houses 4,400 inmates, most convicted of felonies such as manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Officials say it’s too soon to tell whether the situation was an escape attempt that went wrong, since no one has been able to go in and investigate.
Joe Masella, president of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers’ Association, said that although he had no details about the situation, negotiators generally try to calm the inmates and “make them realize that they’re in a no-win situation.”
Masella, whose labor group represents about 1,700 of the state’s 6,000 corrections officers, said prison staff did a good job of ensuring no other disturbances happened after the hostage-taking Sunday.
“The director (of the Department of Corrections ) said talks are going good,” Masella said. “They hope for the best.”
Earlier this month, the prison was the site of two small fires started after an altercation between two inmates spread unrest among 80 prisoners. Three correctional officers suffered minor injuries.
The Corrections Department last dealt with a hostage situation in 1973, when inmates at the prison in Florence killed two prison staff members, Hunter said.