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Inmates Moved After Riot At Kansas Prison

Kansas Department of Corrections

All is quiet Wednesday after a night of rioting at the Norton Correctional Facility about 320 miles west of Kansas City.

The Kansas Department of Corrections (DOC) has moved 100 inmates to other prisons around the state, according to spokesman Samir Arif. Fifty of those inmates were moved to Lansing.

Two staff members suffered minor injuries and were treated on site.

This is one of several uprisings the DOC has had to put down recently. The last disturbance was in July at the prison in El Dorado.

The problems in Norton started when two inmates set a mattress on fire, according to Arif. Some 250 inmates were moved to the yard, where Arif says they started "raising hell," and then broke into a supply shed and took out rakes and shovels.

Several outsides agencies responded. The Norton Fire Department was called to put out out the mattress fire. The Kansas High Patrol says it responded with its plane and troopers on the ground. Officers from the Norton Police Department and deputies from the Norton County Sheriff's Office were also on the scene, according to DOC.

DOC has had trouble filling vacancies around the state. Norton has 196 staff members with 17 current vacancies, according to Arif. 

Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR and a member of the Kansas News Service.  He's also co-host of KCUR's political podcast Statehouse Blend Kansas. Follow him on Twitter @samzeff.

As KCUR’s metro reporter, I hold public officials accountable. Are cities spending your tax money wisely? Are police officers and other officials acting properly? I will track down malfeasance by seeking open records and court documents, and by building relationships across the city. But I also need you — email me with any tips at sam@kcur.org, find me on Twitter @samzeff or call me at 816-235-5004.
Kyle Palmer is the editor of the Shawnee Mission Post, a digital news outlet serving Northeast Johnson County, Kansas. He previously served as KCUR's news director and morning newscaster.
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