Guards injured in Attica Prison disturbance id QAA20000; Wed, 1 Oct 1997 16:06:11 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source: Michael Novick Four Guards injured in Attica Prison disturbance Associated Press, 09/30/97 20:09 ATTICA, N.Y. (AP) - Four guards were injured Tuesday during a fracas at the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility. The guards suffered cuts after being attacked by inmates at a cafeteria about 4:30 p.m., state Department of Corrections spokesman Mike Houston said. Injuries to the guards, whose names were being withheld, were not considered life-threatening. Houston said a tear-gas like substance was deployed in the hall to stop the fight. The 270 inmates inside were then moved to a secure outside yard and decontaminated. The cause of the disturbance was under investigation, Houston said. A spokesman for the guards' union in Albany said the attack on the correctional officers may have been part of a gang initiation. ``If you assault an officer, you can get in the gang. This is a problem that has come up at other facilities,'' said Bob Lawson, spokesman for Council 82, which represents the state's 21,000 correctional officers. ``It was a direct assault on officers,'' he said. Lawson said officers arriving for the afternoon and evening shifts reportedly had been warned at roll call about potential trouble in a mess hall. ``But they didn't hold any officers over from the day shift or call any officers in,'' Lawson said. ``This is something we will be looking into very closely.'' Corrections spokesman James Flateau called Lawson's comments irresponsible. ``The time for union officials to make political statements is after the facility is secured,'' Flateau said. Attica, about 50 miles southeast of Buffalo, was the site of the worst prison uprising in United States history in September 1971. Forty-three people died, including 10 hostages and 29 prisoners who were killed during the re-taking of the prison. The others, one guard and three inmates, died at the hands of rioting prisoners. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. Be PART of the solution -- People Against Racist Terror/ PO Box 1055/Culver City CA 90232-1055/310-288-5003/ Order our journal "Turning the Tide." mnovickttt@igc.org Free Mumia Abu Jamal! Free All POW's and Political Prisoners! Abolish the Racist Death Penalty! ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-10.01.97-16:06:17-20744