LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The top of the union representing correctional officers in Nevada state prisons insists officers did the whole lot they may with the sources they’d throughout a lethal combat in Ely State Jail final yr.
Paul Lunkwitz, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Nevada C.O. Lodge 21, pointed to short-staffing and inadequate weapons obtainable for officers.
“From the perspective of, you know, why didn’t the officers do this, why didn’t they do that? There’s another story behind that where the limited resources that we have, the limited tools that we have, they were deployed to perfection,” Lunkwitz mentioned. “They did everything they could and quite frankly they saved lives.”
The 8 Information Now Investigators obtained video of the combat and aired a report on Sept. 8 exhibiting what unfolded on July 30, 2024.
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Eric Janisch, a former inmate, mentioned he was stabbed and later handled at a hospital.
“I was surprised I made it out of there,” Janisch instructed the 8 Information Now Investigators.
Whereas jail employees have been in an enclosed room with home windows known as a bubble, one inmate is seen on video shifting in for the preliminary assault with what seemed to be a shank, adopted by extra inmates pulling out related prison-made weapons for the combat. It was caught on a number of cameras.
“It was just like a melee,” Janisch recalled.
Janisch mentioned he was on protection with one group of inmates. In court docket paperwork filed by the Nevada Legal professional Basic’s workplace, the opposite group is recognized as affiliated with the Surenos, a Mexican-American gang.
It stays unclear what sparked the combat.
One officer appeared to fireplace the primary pepper ball pictures roughly 14 seconds after the preliminary assault.
“They had two tiers that they had to watch,” Lunkwitz mentioned. “There was only three officers that were working, that were assigned to the unit that day.”Inmates are seen on video dragging the injured to the aspect after which trying lifesaving measures. Janisch tried to resuscitate 22-year-old Connor Brown.
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Jail employees is seen strolling inside the realm the place the combat occurred roughly 11 minutes after the melee started.
Lunkwitz insisted officers have been following division coverage and process.
“Until everything is safe and secure, we’re not sending staff out there. Period,” Lunkwitz mentioned. “They’re not trying to go home in a bag either.”A complete of three inmates died, together with Brown, and two inmates affiliated with Aryan Warriors, a white supremacist gang.
Janisch insisted he has no ties to any gang, however acknowledged inmates usually stick with their very own race behind bars.
Lunkwitz mentioned shotguns, that are now not utilized in Nevada prisons, could be more practical to stop and management fights like this one.
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“The shotguns have a very, very heavy psychological effect,” he mentioned. “I only had to fire a shotgun one time in my entire career and before I could even pull the trigger, they were all getting on the ground, just by me giving commands and them knowing what was coming next.”
In a Sept. 11 memo, Nevada Division of Corrections Director James Dzurenda stood by the 2016 determination to maintain shotguns out of prisons.
“In 2014, NDOC had a fatal shooting of an offender at High Desert State Prison that involved the use of 12-gauge shotgun,” Dzurenda wrote. “The use of this shotgun resulted in the officer being charged with murder where he was found guilty of and sentenced for involuntary manslaughter.”
Dzurenda additionally pointed to lawsuits from the usage of shotguns and a suggestion towards them by the American Corrections Affiliation.
The 8 Information Now Investigators reached out to the division. Whereas a spokesperson mentioned the division couldn’t touch upon the combat as a consequence of litigation, she supplied details about staffing.
“In July of 2024, there were 71 officers at Ely State Prison with an offender population of 525,” Teri Vance wrote in an e mail. “In July of 2025, there were 134 officers and 1,212 offenders.”
3 useless, a number of inmates injured in Nevada jail combat
After the combat, the division relocated roughly 2,000 inmates, together with these on dying row, from Ely State Jail, which was a maximum-security facility, to Excessive Desert State Jail. Excessive Desert State Jail, situated close to Indian Springs, transitioned from medium safety to most safety, whereas Ely State Jail was downgraded to medium safety. In current months, there was a string of homicides at Excessive Desert State Jail.
The 8 Information Now Investigators discovered about ongoing prison circumstances in reference to the combat towards the next inmates: Gerardo Aparicio, Michael Banuelos, Matthew Berg, Edgar Candelario, Oscar Cisneros, Andrew Emerich, Christian Flores, Juan Franco, Ivan Garcia, Jesus Jaramillo, Christian Medrano, Juan Montalvo, Oscar Montalvo, Luis Padillia, Anthony Ribera, Reynaldo Suarez, Ricardo Saucedo, and Edgar Ullao-Ceja.
Janisch is suing the Nevada Division of Corrections.”I shouldn’t have had to fight for my life,” he mentioned. “I should never have been put in that position.”Lunkwitz mentioned the officers concerned are unable to talk publicly in regards to the incident as a consequence of division coverage.
To achieve investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, e mail [email protected].
