Inmates At Kansas Prison Take Over Cell Block, Destroy Property In Disturbance Over COVID-19 Frustrations

The Kansas Department of Corrections said Friday a disturbance at a state prison was contained after prisoners reportedly took over a cell block and destroyed prison property.

The reported disturbance took place at the Lansing Correctional Facility when inmates in medium-security cell house C, Kansas City NBC-affiliate KSHB reported. Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Randall Bowman said around 50 inmates were out of their cells when they allegedly began destroying prison offices in the cell block around 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Bowman said the disturbance calmed by 1 a.m. Friday and all prisoners had been accounted for with no injuries reported. However, he declined to share details about how the incident came to an end.

It started after an alleged argument between staff and the prisoners as staff tried to pass out face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The prison reportedly had 26 confirmed cases of coronavirus -- 14 staff members and 12 inmates -- several of whom were being treated in the infirmary neighboring the cell block.

“The warden came in to bring the face masks,” one inmate, whose name hasn’t been released, told KSHB by phone. “In the midst of that, an argument began about showers, why inmates couldn’t take showers. It’s been two days. Someone decided not only were we not going to get showers, we also weren’t going to get face masks until next week.”

All prison staff were evacuated from the cell block, which normally holds 120 to 160 inmates.

“They’ve broken everything that could be broken, except the bars because you can’t break the bars,” the inmate said. “Windows, microwaves — they’ve trashed the officer’s station where they do their work. The computers are broken. The cameras have been taken down, just like mayhem. ... Somebody just broke a window now.”

The inmate also said that at its peak, around 100 inmates were allegedly involved in the incident.

Bowman said that the number of inmates involved reportedly dropped to around 20 as the night progressed, but cautioned it was a “very rough estimate.” He then said a response team was prepared to enter the block if the situation escalated further.

“If they don't escalate to fires or violence, we’ll wait them out,” Bowman said.

The inmate said other inmates involved were not hurting anyone, and the situation was born of sheer frustration.

“No one is hurting anyone, none of the individuals,” the inmate said. “None of the inmates are hurting each other, but they are just breaking stuff because they are angry. ... Because we’re not getting the proper stuff to help with the coronavirus, people decided to act crazy.”