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Officers regain control of UP prison unit

LANSING (AP) — Authorities regained control of a 236-inmate housing unit inside an Upper Peninsula prison early Monday hours after a fight among three inmates resulted in one being Tased by an officer, the state Corrections Department said.

The fight began around 10:25 p.m. Sunday at the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kincheloe. After the Tased prisoner was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, many inmates — who had not yet been locked in their cells for the night — approached an officer station, forcing the guards to leave.

Staff and members of the department’s emergency response team moved into the low-security unit just before 4 a.m. and retook control, putting all inmates in their cells. The U.S. Border Patrol helped provide additional perimeter security. State police also responded.

Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz said the Tased prisoner was medically cleared at the hospital and discharged back into the department’s custody. There is extensive damage inside the unit, which houses lower-level inmates and is “not livable,” he said. The prisoners were transferred to other facilities until repairs can be made.

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