KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Department of Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda said Friday that his department will investigate what led inmates to trash property and damage offices at the Lansing Correctional Facility.
Zmuda, speaking with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly at her daily COVID-19 briefing, said that two inmates had minor injuries after the outbreak, which occurred in a medium-security cell block on Thursday. Both inmates were treated on-site. No staff were injured in the incident.
The inmates in the unit where the outbreak occurred were moved to a lockdown unit while the investigation proceeds, Zmuda said.
No inmates in that unit had exhibited symptoms of COVID-19, Zmuda said, and the unit is not located in the same building as the prison’s quarantine unit.
He said there were no plans at this time to quarantine inmates involved in the outbreak or staff who were sent in to break it up.
The disturbance ended and the prison was brought under control early Friday morning.
Kelly said that an investigation has been launched to understand why the uprising occurred and to take steps to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
The governor also said she understands the concerns from staff and inmates about the level of health care being provided by Corizon Health. She said she has directed her staff to send a letter to the company’s CEO to express her concerns.
Zmuda said that as of Friday afternoon, there were 12 positive COVID-19 cases within the state's offender population, all of whom are in a quarantine unit. Seven additional offenders are being housed in a separate unit for observation.
Sixteen staff also have tested positive for the virus, all from the Lansing Correctional Facility, Zmuda said.
