Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Nevada prisons ending use of birdshot behind bars

High Desert State Prison

AP Photo / John Locher

This April 15, 2015, photo shows guard towers at High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs.

Click to enlarge photo

Carlos Manuel Perez Jr.

Nevada prison guards will no longer use birdshot rounds and instead opt for less-lethal options when fights erupt, the agency said Tuesday.

The removal of all birdshot was ordered by new Department of Corrections Director James Dzurenda, with the full support of Gov. Brian Sandoval. It became effective Tuesday.

The agency has moved to implement less-lethal tools, such as rubber bullets, as well as update policies with new compliance measures and "more effective" defensive practices, the agency said in a news release.

"The goal is to gain compliance and change inmate behavior before physical force needs to be used," Dzurenda said in the release.

An independent review ordered by the state in May 2015 recommended the reduction of the use of the birdshot rounds, which are tiny pellets fired from shotguns. It also advised the department to hire more staff and update the procedures on handling prisoner fights.

Recommendations also included the use of batons, pepper spray and handcuffs to diffuse fights.

The review, conducted by the Association of State Correctional Administrators, came about four months after the death of inmate Carlos Manuel Perez Jr.

Perez Jr., 28, was hit by birdshot while in handcuffs on Nov. 12, 2014, at the High Desert State Prison about 45 minutes from Las Vegas. His cause of death hadn't been publicly announced and only surfaced after media reports.

The report said prison guards created a "gladiator-like scenario" by letting inmates fight before firing into the fray.

Birdshot rounds was introduced in Nevada prisons in the early 1980s and have not been widely used in the U.S., after the development of stun weapons, pepper spray, bean bags, rubber pellets and other options, the agency said.

"There will still be fights and issues in prison, it's the nature of the business, but I feel confident staff will be able to stop those altercations safely, with minimal injury and without the use of birdshot," Dzurenda said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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