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CHINO: There were fights and accusations that blacks tainted food given to Hispanics.
12:58 AM PDT on Thursday, June 24, 2004
By STEFANIE FRITH / The Press-Enterprise
CHINO - Almost 50 Hispanic prisoners at the Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino complained of stomach cramping and nausea Tuesday after eating a breakfast of oatmeal and creamed beef on toast that had been prepared and possibly tainted by four black inmates, a prison official said Wednesday.
Youth facility spokeswoman Vicki Griffin said there is no proof that the black wards contaminated the food, and the incident is being investigated. The prison remained on lockdown Wednesday. <b
>
The incident took place two days after a fight Sunday involving 23 Hispanic inmates - called wards - and five black inmates occurred during visiting hours, Griffin said.
"There's alway
s going to be racial tensions," Griffin said.
As a result of Sunday's fight and the possible food contamination Tuesday, a graduation ceremony scheduled Friday for 50 wards has been postponed until sometime in July, Griffin said.
"We want to give the wards time to calm down," she said.
The food poisoning was discovered around 9 a.m. Tuesday when 49 wards in the GNH unit complained of abdominal pain, cramping and nausea. No one was taken to the hospital and four wards said they vomited, though no correctional staff witnessed this, Griffin said. There are 96 wards in the unit, all of whom are Hispanic, Griffin said.
Four black wards had prepared the meal for the GNH unit. The meal consisted of oatmeal and creamed beef on toast, Griffin said. The food and the
trays were sent out for testing and the kitchen was checked and given a clean bill of health, Griffin said.
Youth and adult correctional agencies are prohibited from segregating wards and inm
ates
based on race, said Sarah Ludeman, spokeswoman for the California Youth Authority
.
Stark's high Hispanic population, however, makes it almost impossible not to separate them, Griffin said. Sixty percent of the prison is Hispanic, and no other housing unit is dominated by one race, she said.
The number of wards and correctional staff has increased in the last few months, due to the closure of the Fred. C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility in Whittier earlier this year. Twenty wards and 100 staff members have been added, Griffin said. She said this has added to mounting tensions on the yards and in programs.
On Sunday, 28 wards were involved in a fight while they were visiting with family at the facility, Griffin said. Some parents got involved, instigating some fights and squaring
off inmates, she said.
"Some were rooting for their sons," she said.
Chemical agents, such as pepper spray, were used to break up the fight and injuries ranged from a
cut on
a ward's left hand to a nosebleed and a cut on a shin, Griffin said. The wards did not use any weapons. Chino
police were called in and the incident remains under investigation.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories...ya24.a0d1f.html
CHINO: There were fights and accusations that blacks tainted food given to Hispanics.
12:58 AM PDT on Thursday, June 24, 2004
By STEFANIE FRITH / The Press-Enterprise
CHINO - Almost 50 Hispanic prisoners at the Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino complained of stomach cramping and nausea Tuesday after eating a breakfast of oatmeal and creamed beef on toast that had been prepared and possibly tainted by four black inmates, a prison official said Wednesday.
Youth facility spokeswoman Vicki Griffin said there is no proof that the black wards contaminated the food, and the incident is being investigated. The prison remained on lockdown Wednesday. <b
>
The incident took place two days after a fight Sunday involving 23 Hispanic inmates - called wards - and five black inmates occurred during visiting hours, Griffin said.
"There's alway
s going to be racial tensions," Griffin said.
As a result of Sunday's fight and the possible food contamination Tuesday, a graduation ceremony scheduled Friday for 50 wards has been postponed until sometime in July, Griffin said.
"We want to give the wards time to calm down," she said.
The food poisoning was discovered around 9 a.m. Tuesday when 49 wards in the GNH unit complained of abdominal pain, cramping and nausea. No one was taken to the hospital and four wards said they vomited, though no correctional staff witnessed this, Griffin said. There are 96 wards in the unit, all of whom are Hispanic, Griffin said.
Four black wards had prepared the meal for the GNH unit. The meal consisted of oatmeal and creamed beef on toast, Griffin said. The food and the
trays were sent out for testing and the kitchen was checked and given a clean bill of health, Griffin said.
Youth and adult correctional agencies are prohibited from segregating wards and inm
ates
based on race, said Sarah Ludeman, spokeswoman for the California Youth Authority
.
Stark's high Hispanic population, however, makes it almost impossible not to separate them, Griffin said. Sixty percent of the prison is Hispanic, and no other housing unit is dominated by one race, she said.
The number of wards and correctional staff has increased in the last few months, due to the closure of the Fred. C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility in Whittier earlier this year. Twenty wards and 100 staff members have been added, Griffin said. She said this has added to mounting tensions on the yards and in programs.
On Sunday, 28 wards were involved in a fight while they were visiting with family at the facility, Griffin said. Some parents got involved, instigating some fights and squaring
off inmates, she said.
"Some were rooting for their sons," she said.
Chemical agents, such as pepper spray, were used to break up the fight and injuries ranged from a
cut on
a ward's left hand to a nosebleed and a cut on a shin, Griffin said. The wards did not use any weapons. Chino
police were called in and the incident remains under investigation.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories...ya24.a0d1f.html