Did Chino Staff Leave Men in Cages for Days After Riots?

[NOTE: The photo above of the cage was taken by Michael Montgomery at Pelican Bay Prison, not at Chino. But the Chino enclosures are thought to be similar.)

After last August’s 1300 inmate, eleven-hour riot at California Institute for Men in Chino—informally known by its location “Chino—CDCR officials congratulated themselves for how well they handled the riot and its aftermath.

Now, Steven Cuevas of LA’s NPR station, KPCC, has uncovered some allegations by dozens of prisoners, made in letters and telephone calls to their families, which suggest that after the riots inmates were kept outdoors in literal cages—enclosures about 20-feet long and 10-feet wide—for days at a time, stripped to thier underwear, without blankets or running water, some of the men needing medical attention.

On Monday’s Airtalk Cuevas will talk about what he has learned and the allegations that prisoners and their families have made to CDCR officials—and now to the press.

Last week, Michael Montgomery of California Watch put up his own report about letters he had read from inmates who recounted the same alarming allegations and more. Here’s a clip:

…Now, inmates themselves appear to be entering the debate, with claims that prison staff inflamed racial tensions, failed to take adequate measures to contain the violence and left many prisoners zip-tied and in extreme conditions for hours after the riot was over.

A new Web site has posted more than 50 letters and comments which it claims are from inmates — most still behind bars at Chino — who witnessed the riots. The letters are emotional and filled with graphic details but are anonymous. Here’s one sample from a man identified only as inmate 1081:

My story is just as drastic as the others. Three nights in a cage with 10 other men. And no water, no restroom facilities. I have kidney problems. It was torture for me.

When Cuevas first went to Chino a month ago to ask officials about the allegations, one official denied them altogether. In subsequent inquiries officials admitted to keeping men in the cages for an hour or so, but no longer.

KPCC has posted an audio montage of the men’s letters—on its website, and they tell a very different story.

There will be much more information to come on this issue. Count on it.

(In the meantime, read some of the letters for yourself.)

Once big question that I know Michael Montgomery is planning to dig into—namely: when did officials know of the allegations and what did—or didn’t—they do about them.