The FBI believes the guards were justified in shooting, but several inmates could face charges for assaulting another inmate shortly after the riot. \
By Sara Burnett
Rocky Mountain News
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FLORENCE, Colo. — The April riot that left two inmates dead at the U.S. Penitentiary in Florence lasted nearly a half-hour and injured six times the number of people the Bureau of Prisons announced at the time, according to an incident report obtained by the Rocky Mountain News.
Thirty inmates and a staff member were assaulted in the racially motivated brawl, a report written by a Bureau of Prisons investigator states.
When the riot occurred, prison officials said five people - all inmates - were injured.
They would not say how long the riot lasted.
On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar sent a letter to Bureau of Prisons Director Harley G. Lappin, urging him to release reports on the riot to the public.
Salazar asked Lappin shortly after the riot for a full briefing once the bureau’s investigation is complete, particularly in regard to staffing levels.
“The people of Colorado, especially those in the communities surrounding the USP, deserve the assurance that the BOP is taking the steps necessary to improve security at the facility and prevent terrible incidents like this in the future,” Salazar wrote in Tuesday’s letter.
BOP spokeswoman Traci Billingsley has said that while some incident reports have been issued to inmates, the riot still is being investigated.
The riot broke out in the recreation yard around noon April 20, after white inmates celebrating Adolf Hitler’s birthday made racial comments to black inmates, authorities said.
About 200 inmates - some armed with rocks and sharpened metal - were involved.
When the inmates ignored orders to stop, guards in towers unloaded their weapons, firing from 300 to 400 rounds, including warning shots.
Inmates Brian Kubik, 41, and Philip Hooker, 43, died from gunshots fired by the guards, the coroner said.
The riot prompted two investigations: a criminal investigation led by the FBI, and an internal review conducted by the BOP.
Special Agent Kathy Wright, an FBI spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the FBI concluded its investigation and has forwarded its reports to federal prosecutors to consider criminal charges.
Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to comment, saying the investigation is ongoing.
Wright said the FBI believes the guards were justified in shooting.
But she said several inmates could face charges for assaulting another inmate shortly after the riot.
Many more inmates face disciplinary action within the prison system, Billingsley said.
The BOP has issued 21 incident reports - the vehicle the prison system uses to initiate disciplinary action, such as losing privileges or segregating inmates.
Some of the 21 reports include allegations against multiple inmates, Billingsley said.
Frank Sims, an inmate who was moved to a prison in California after the riot, said in a letter to the Rocky that the yard the day of the riot “look like lil (sic) Baghdad.”
Sims received an incident report accusing him and five other inmates of being an accomplice to a killing, rioting, assault and refusing an order.
The report, which Sims provided to the Rocky, says the riot lasted 29 minutes and resulted in injuries - some life-threatening - to 30 inmates.
It also says Sims and others injured a staff member while forcing their way out of food service to join the riot.
Sims denies the allegations, saying he was trapped on the yard and forced to defend himself.
Copyright 2008 Denver Publishing Company