Connecting Alaska to the World And the World to Alaska
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Several Inmates Charged with Rioting, Assault in Melee at Fairbanks Correctional Center

Alaska Department of Corrections

Alaska State Troopers say they’ve charged several inmates at Fairbanks Correctional Center with rioting and assault for their roles in a disturbance at the jail Thursday that led to a lockdown and street closure.

Capt. Ron Wall, who heads up the Troopers’ Fairbanks-based D Detachment, said no serious injuries were reported and no escapes or other security breaches occurred during the disturbance, which was resolved without further incident after about an hour-and-a-half.

“At no time was there a breach in the facility,” Wall said.

He says corrections staff reported a disturbance in the jail’s A Wing at around noon Thursday. Troopers and Fairbanks Police sent their SWAT-style Special Emergency Response Teams to the jail and shut down Wilbur Street, which leads to the facility, for about an hour and 45 minutes.

Credit Facebook/Fairbanks Police Department
Alaska State Troopers D Detachment Commander Capt. Ron Wall says "there will be numerous charges for riot, assault, and so forth" in the aftermath of Thursday's disturbance at FCC.

Wall said Thursday afternoon that the disturbance had been quelled. “The situation is under control," he said, "all personnel have been secured and the investigation is now continuing, because there will be numerous charges for riot, assault, and so forth that will be forwarded through the court system.”

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that while Wilbur Street was closed, two ambulance drove into the jail parking lot. But Wall told a reporter that he wasn't aware of any significant injuries to inmates or correctional officers, nor to police or troopers.

One bystander who asked not to be identified said other facilities around the jail were operating under lockdown during the disturbance.

Tim has worked in the news business for over three decades, mainly as a newspaper reporter and editor in southern Arizona. Tim first came to Alaska with his family in 1967, and grew up in Delta Junction before emigrating to the Lower 48 in 1977 to get a college education and see the world.