‘Series of staff assaults’ prompted lockdown of all Nevada prisons
A “series of staff assaults” that resulted in hospitalizations last week prompted a sweeping lockdown of all Nevada Department of Corrections facilities for several days, the agency confirmed Thursday.
It was unclear at which facility or facilities the assaults occurred, how many staff members were injured or the extent of their injuries, but Deputy Director Bill Quenga told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday that “the officers” were treated at a local hospital and released on the same day.
In a statement, Quenga declined to release further details about the attacks, citing an “active case” that is under review.
The lockdowns went into effect on the evening of Jan. 28, he said, with most restrictions lifted on Monday, although some facilities were still working under “modified operations.”
During a lockdown, which Quenga said is put in place after any “major safety or security incident,” inmates must remain in their assigned housing areas until the facility returns to normal operations. Lockdowns are lifted only after an incident “is identified and controlled,” he added.
“The Nevada Department of Corrections places the safety of its staff as the utmost priority,” Quenga said in the statement.
According to the department’s website, it operates 19 facilities throughout the state — two transitional housing facilities, seven prisons and 10 conservation camps.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Blake Apgar contributed to this report.