Riot erupts at Oklahoma prison, three inmates injured

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – Police surrounded a private prison in western Oklahoma on Tuesday after inmates took over a dining room, authorities said.

Officers from four agencies responded to the riot and three injured inmates were taken to the hospital in Sayre, where Corrections Corporation of America operates a medium-security prison, officials said.

“Eighty to 90 offenders are supposedly barricaded in the dining room,” said Joyce Jackson, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, which monitors the privately-owned prison.

The prison houses offenders from California, Jackson said. Prison and corporate officials were unavailable to provide details of the disturbance, which was reported shortly before noon.

“We’ve got law enforcement surrounding the perimeter,” said Amy Brewer, a dispatcher for the Beckham County Sheriff’s Department.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/us-prison-riot-oklahoma-idUSTRE79A6EH20111011