By paNOW Staff

UPDATE: Inmate confirmed dead inside Sask. Penitentiary

Dec 15, 2016 | 9:18 AM

UPDATE: Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed an inmate died at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.

The deceased was identified as Jason Leonard Bird, 43, who was serving a sentence of two years and seven months for break-and-enter and theft. CSC said Bird was transported to hospital yesterday where he was pronounced dead.

CSC spokesman Jeff Campbell said Bird’s next of kin have been notified, along with the police and coroner’s office. The circumstances surrounding Bird’s death will be reviewed.

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Sources have confirmed to paNOW at least one inmate is dead within the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, and the facility suffered damage after an incident yesterday which the guards’ union called a “flat-out riot.” Reports of smashed windows, flooding and heat registers that have been pulled off the walls are emerging from the prison, but have not yet been confirmed by Correctional Service Canada (CSC).

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CSC spokesman Jeff Campbell declined to answer specific questions about whether there had been any deaths within the facility, and only confirmed the lockdown is still in effect 21 hours after it began.

“The lockdown is still in place this morning at the medium and maximum-security units,” Campbell said. “We’re looking at re-establishing normal operations once it’s considered safe to do so.

James Bloomfield with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers said the riot began when inmates refused to lock up and then barricaded the entrance to the unit. The Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called in and altercations turned violent.

“I know there are several inmates at outside hospitals right now with varying degrees of injuries,” he said.  

The union spokesman says about six to seven inmates were sent for treatment, while one correctional officer was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure after exposure to bodily fluids.

Bloomfield added there was serious damage to the facility.

“We have some areas that are uninhabitable at the moment, and we’re going to be working through exactly what we can and can’t operate within the institution. There was several windows smashed out,” he said.

–With files from CKOM News and the Canadian Press

news@paNOW.com

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