Lockdown restrictions remained in place at the Maricopa County Fourth Avenue and Lower Buckeye jails due to racial riots that broke out last week among at least 20 inmates at the Lower Buckeye Jail, according to information from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
The riot broke out on June 29 because black inmates and white inmates did not like living together, and there were concerns that the riots could lead to a large-scale assault, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio remained adamant about not segregating the inmates.
“I want to send inmates a message that I run these jails, and I will not be segregating inmates based on race, which is what they want,” Arpaio said in a release.
A lockdown means that visitation, phone calls and nonessential movement will be restricted and SWAT teams will be on standby.
The riots caused a county jail systemwide lockdown, but the lockdowns were lifted Monday at Tent City, the Towers, Durango and Estrella jails.
The lockdown, however, will remain in effect indefinitely at the Fourth Avenue Jail, where 1,700 of the county’s most violent inmates are incarcerated.
