Feds and OC

WASHINGTON -- Corrections officers at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater and six other tension-racked federal prisons now will be armed with pepper spray, prompted in part by a 2008 slaying that still haunts a California court.

Urged on by lawmakers, U.S. Bureau of Prisons officials are training selected officers to use the spray canisters, which can drop a violent inmate from as far as 12 feet away. Although described as a "pilot program" that will formally start in several weeks, the decision marks a policy shift for officials who until now have warned against the dangers of arming prison officers.

Under the prior no-weapons policy, Atwater guard Jose Rivera carried only a radio and body alarm when two inmates are believed to have turned on him on June 20, 2008. They are accused of running Rivera down, tackling the 22-year-old Navy veteran and stabbing him repeatedly, based on what's seen on a prison videotape. The two accused inmates are awaiting trial.

"The senseless and tragic murder of Jose Rivera highlighted the dangerous risks correctional officers face on a daily basis when working in overcrowded prisons," stated Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, adding that he is pleased with the new policy, which he believes will "save other law enforcement officers from injury or even death."

After Rivera's slaying, Cardoza introduced legislation to direct a pepper-spray pilot program in federal prisons. Although the legislation has not moved, the version reintroduced in the current Congress has collected 61 House co-sponsors; it's the kind of congressional support that can grab an agency's attention
While state prison officers in California and several other states are armed with pepper spray, federal authorities until now have reasoned that the potential disadvantages outweighed the benefits.

Arming guards, even with a nonlethal weapon such as pepper spray, would impede communication with inmates, officials have stated. Officials also have warned that unruly inmates could seize the 3- to 4-ounce pepper spray canisters and turn them against the guards.

"Management at one (federal) institution explained that, regardless of the amount of equipment officers carry, inmates will always outnumber officers. Therefore, the officers' ability to manage the inmates through effective communication, rather than the use of equipment, is essential to ensuring federal safety," the Government Accountability Office noted in a 2011 study.

A Bureau of Prison spokesman could not be reached Friday.