California Inmates Riot At Private Prison In Oklahoma

SAYRE, Okla. (AP) -- Police and ambulance crews were dispatched to a private prison in southwestern Oklahoma after fights broke out among California inmates held there.

The Daily Elk Citian newspaper reported several ambulances transported people from the North Fork Corrections Facility at Sayre. The Sayre Memorial Hospital said it had received a number of injured inmates.

Six Oklahoma state police units were sent to the prison, and a Beckham County sheriff's dispatcher told The Oklahoman it appeared the disturbance has been contained.

The medium-security prison is run by the Corrections Corp. of America, which is based in Tennessee. The company did not immediately return calls for comment.

Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said 2,381 California inmates are held at North Fork.

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