Inmates at Ontario jail return to cells after rioting, smashing windows

Monday, April 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MILLBROOK, Ontario (AP) _ Rioting inmates broke out of their cells and took control of one wing of a maximum security prison in eastern Ontario for several hours before returning to their cells peacefully, a government spokeswoman said.

The prisoners got out of their cells at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday and broke windows at the Millbrook Correctional Center southwest of Peterborough, said government spokeswoman Julia Noonan.

They gained control of a wing of the prison in an apparent attempt to get out into the prison yard, said union official Tim Hannah.

The inmates returned to their cells at about midnight and closed their doors after talking with negotiators dispatched to quell the riot, Noonan said.

``The situation was resolved peacefully and there were no injuries to staff or inmates,'' she said. ``We're closely monitoring the area and determining what steps to take, whether the inmates need to be removed from their cells tonight.''

She had no details on the amount of damage.

Noonan said as many as 25 prisoners were involved in the riot, but Hannah, president of Millbrook's staff union, put the number at 39.

Managers at the prison have been filling in for workers who have been in a province-wide public service strike, now into its third week.

``Management has been leaving a number of inmates unattended and unsupervised in their wings and in the day rooms during the last three weeks,'' Hannah said. ``That's what caused this.''

Noonan stopped short of saying the strike had contributed to the incident.

``Certainly in the past three weeks there have been more disturbances than normal,'' she said.

Union official Roy Lawder said the union has been negotiating with management.

The jail can hold 445 inmates, but Noonan said the center was below capacity.