For the second time in six months a Hawai’i inmate in a privately run Arizona prison overpowered a guard Thursday evening and seized his keys to free other prisoners.
The inmates who were released then used the keys to unlock another cell and attack another inmate, according to corrections officials. They were not identified.
The Thursday incident and a strikingly similar attack on July 27 at Saguaro Correctional Center occurred at a time when the ACLU of Hawai’i is already asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate conditions at the prison.
Nearly 940 Hawai’i prisoners are held at Saguaro In Eloy, Arizona, under a contract with prison operator CoreCivic because there is no room for them in Hawai’i facilities.
The incident Thursday began at about 6:15 p.m. when a Saguaro corrections officer “was allegedly assaulted” by a Hawai’i inmate who overpowered the guard and took his keys, according to a statement from Hawai’i corrections officials.
The inmate then locked the officer in a recreation area where he was unable to call for help, then used the keys to release four other inmates from their cells. The five prisoners then opened another cell to attack an inmate inside, according to the statement.
Prison staff used pepper spray on the inmates to regain control of the unit, according to the statement from the Hawai’i Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The corrections officer and the prisoner who was attacked were treated at a nearby hospital for “non-life-threatening injuries,” the statement said.
CoreCivic notified the Eloy Police Department and Hawaii corrections officials, and an investigation is underway, according to the department.
The sequence of events is similar to a more serious attack July 27. That incident also began when an inmate in a disciplinary unit of the prison allegedly assaulted a corrections officer and obtained the officer’s keys.
The inmate then released other men from their cells, and three in that group used the keys to open the cell of prisoner Daniel Kosi and attack him. Kosi survived, but his family said he suffered about 50 stab woundsto his head and upper body, including wounds to both of his eyes.
Tommy Johnson, director of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, declined to answer questions about security concerns at the facility following the Thursday incident.
The department said in a statement that it cannot comment further on either this week’s attack or the July 27 assault “as it would jeopardize the integrity of those investigations.”
Full article can be found at: https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/01/another-hawaii-inmate-and-guard-are-at...