Police: Key guard in Arizona prison melee kills self

The corrections officer whose encounter with an inmate escalated into a full-scale riot at the state prison in northwestern Arizona has taken his life.

The Bullhead City Police Department confirmed that Jon Kemp, 30, killed himself inside his apartment early Wednesday.

Utah-based Management and Training Corp., the company that operates the minimum- to medium-security prison in Golden Valley that is under contract with the state, said Kemp was involved in a verbal altercation with an inmate that erupted into a riot inside the Hualapai Unit of the prison about 8 p.m. July 2.

The extensive criminal damage that resulted prompted the relocation of some 1,100 prisoners to other facilities.

Police said Kemp‘s wife called police concerning her potentially suicidal husband early Wednesday. Officers responding at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday spotted Kemp on a balcony entering his Adobe Apartment Unit at 1618 Goldrush before a gunshot rang out, they said.

"The weapon was a 30.06 Springfield rifle,‘‘ said police spokeswoman Carina Spotts.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague and friend John Kemp," the company said Thursday, in a statement issued by public information officer Issa Arnita. "It is not appropriate for us to speculate regarding the motive behind his death. We are fully cooperating with police in their investigation into this tragic situation. Mr. Kemp was hired on Dec. 17, 2012."

Department of Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder said he could not comment on Kemp‘s death. He said events associated with four days of unrest that resulted in the injury of a dozen staff members and inmates at the prison remain under investigation.