GH war stories.

If I would have to say of all the "war" stories that stick in my mind there about three short ones I always tell people if they want to hear one. Some people love to hear stories of jail work. But there are a few that stick out above the others. One time I was running to a RED alert and thinking I hope none of the CO's were hurt and I hope it isn't too bad. That sort of thing. I show up at this junctions point where they have three gates in the joining hallways so we can stop the spread of riots, that sort of thing. When I get there things have already come to conclusion as far as the fighting goes. None of the Staff had been hurt. So your heart goes at ease. I was one of the first to arrive and the Sgt. says take this guy to the infirmary. He was stabbed but able to walk. So I assumed that some one previously there had frisked him. Bad idea. I guess the Sgt. should have told me to do so but also I should have asked but here's this fairly small inmate bleeding all over himself. So I hustled him down to the infirmary. There were Officers there so when I got there I turned him over and went back to my bid job which at the time was the package room. I know it doesn't sound like much of a story. But one of the CO's in the infirmary told me later that when they took his jacket off they found 19 total stab wounds!! They had also found a razor in his jacket concealed somewhere. What always struck me odd was that this inmate had thought he could throw his jacket on to cover the stab wounds and go back in the block like nothing happened. Now I had seen one stab wound on his arm. It looked like someone had taken a candle stick and was able to stab him quite deeply with it. A nasty wound for sure. What I hadn't seen were the 18 other shots! And this guy actually was trying to avoid getting medical help. Luckily he hadn't pulled the razor on anyone. I felt sick in my stomach when I found out he had a razor somewhere on him. Lesson learned was any time something like that happened for the rest of my career I made sure the inmate was frisked.
Another one I remember was responding to "A" block one day for some big fight taking place. When I get there two of the biggest inmates in the place were having a big dispute. The only issue was the bigger heavy set one was trying to get through the bars to kick this muscle bound inmates ass.. He was totally out of control and would not listen to directions from the Officers. He was a fairly well known inmate in the block and usually was a well mannered inmate. So what I found funny was this guy is refusing to let the CO's cuff him and struggling like crazy totally had lost it, and there were two Officers on each arm and they were having difficulty getting his arm close enough so the cuffs could be used. I remember saying to the one female Officer on one of his arms. Let me take your spot due to she was about 115 soaking wet.. Not that she wasn't giving it her all, but his one arm was about as big as her whole upper body!! We finally did get him cuffed and I remember the normal sized cuffs were tight with just one click. Things calmed down and I guess the whole fight was over the one muscle bound inmate had thrown his oatmeal into the other guys face. I think if the gate hadn't been there someone may have died over throwing oatmeal.
The last one I'll bring up is the story if an old black inmate who was known around the jail for knowing karate. Some of the CO's who had been around a while tell the story of seeing him kick a ceiling pipe in the hall leading to sick call. Now that is really up there so I always wondered if that story was true. But if was a long day at jail and stories always helped. I'll stick with not telling names but we'll call him "M". So "M" had been in a big altercation at some point in a the furthest north Max jail in the state. He hurt some CO's and ended up getting hurt quite badly himself. Serves him right I'd say. You want to act like an idiot you get what you got coming to you. But for the last few years I guess this inmate "M" was going about jail life without issues. You see the story goes he had shaved all his hair off his body and used Vaseline everywhere on him so no one could get a good hold on him. And totally naked, no hair, greased up, and he decides to do some fighting. So this old story floated around the jail. But for while now "M" was acting like he should so life in jail goes on. Until one day I am heading to the block to do the count. The CO controlling the gate, I can't remember his name but did know it then, says "Hey "H" go check the yard there's still an Inmate sitting out by the TV". So I go out and here's this "M" sitting there. I went up to him and asked him why he was still out. He said he didn't want to go back in. And it was going to take a lot of you to make me. So I'm not a lot of you, so I go back in and tell the CO's running the gate better get a Sgt. here. It was the notorious "M". So I had never been up close to "M" prior to that day. He wasn't very big or in very good shape. I was like this guy doesn't look like much. But whatever, the Sgt. will no how to take care of it better than I. I had given him an order to leave the yard I'd given it a shot. So I'm hanging out there waiting for the Sgt. to show and when he gets there we go out in the yard again and the Sgt. tells this guy he has to leave the yard. I can't remember who was all there but it was about 4-5 Officers and the Sgt. I remember "M" looking at us and he starts sizing us up. He's pretty big, He looks fast, That sort of thing. The Sgt. makes a decision to let him sit there a while., No one was getting hurt so no since pushing it I guess he figured. I thought at the time we should have dragged him out of the yard, he shouldn't be allowed to do what he like whenever he wants. Plus I thought we could have easily done it. But now after all the years under my belt, I think the Sgt. made the right choice. Let him sit there a while and maybe he'd decide, once he figured the TV wasn't coming on any time soon, that he should come inside by himself with no force needed. Well it was count time and as any CO knows it's what we get paid for doing. "The Count" So I have a company to count and take to chow. So the Sgt. orders all of us out of the yard and tells some of us to go do our counts. I was really curios about how it all ended so I'd ask whoever if they had heard anything. I guess they got as many CO's they could and surrounded him. They had given him a lot of time and he kept acting like he was going to fight. He hadn't greased himself up but apparently his rep had followed him. Enough was enough and they closed in on him and as the first one was close enough to touch him he gave up completely. Off to the box he went!! An odd event to say the least. Maybe he owed a gambling debt or just want to spend some alone time in the box. Who knew.. More "war" stories for another time.