Alaska State Troopers say they’ve charged several inmates at Fairbanks Correctional Center with rioting and assault for their roles in a disturbance reported at about noon on Thursday.
Captain 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 incident, which was resolved peacefully after about an hour-and-a-half.
Wall said the incident, which authorities are calling a “disturbance,” occurred in the jail’s A Wing. Troopers and Fairbanks Police sent their SWAT-style Special Emergency Response Teams to jail after receiving a report of the incident. They shut down Wilbur Street, which leads to the facility, for about about an hour and 45 minutes.
“The situation is under control, all personnel have been secured and the investigation is now continuing because there will be numerous charges,” Wall said.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that while Wilbur 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 and that he knew there weren’t any injuries to police or troopers.
An investigation into the disturbance continues.
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
