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Union: Reported disturbance at Kan. prison involved 30 inmates

For the fourth time in less than 90 days, an uprising has occurred at the El Dorado Correctional Facility

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This March 23, 2011, photo shows the El Dorado Correctional Facility near El Dorado, Kan.

AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File

By Max Londberg
The Wichita Eagle

BUTLER COUNTY, Kan. — For the fourth time in less than 90 days, an uprising has occurred at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, according to the Kansas Organization of State Employees and the partner of an employee of the prison.

About 30 inmates refused to follow orders Friday in multiple areas of the prison, the partner of the employee said.

She said she listened to the incident unfold via a police scanner.

The incident began around 7 p.m. Friday, she said, and lasted for about 30 minutes.

There were no confirmed injuries suffered during the incident, according to Robert Choromanski, the executive director of the state employees organization.

Special security teams were called in at the outset, the partner of the employee said. About 30 minutes later, a second call went out for additional security team personnel to respond to the prison.

The reported incident occurred on the same day that two inmates were wounded in the prison and needed outside medical treatment.

Todd Fertig, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections, said an inmate was wounded at about 5:15 p.m. Friday. At 11:30 a.m., an inmate suffered “several puncture wounds.”

No employees were injured in the incidents, Fertig added.

Fertig did not respond to a question about Friday night’s reported disturbance involving 30 inmates, which follows three others since early May.

The Star learned that the Kansas Department of Corrections downplayed the severity of a June 29 incident at the prison, in which violence occurred, at least one inmate had a weapon and there was at least one fire set.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported two other “mass disturbances” that were not disclosed to the public. Those occurred in early May and late June.

Hunter Woodall contributed to this story

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©2017 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)