• A video has surfaced showing an inmate assault in an Arizona prison, raising concerns about systemic issues within the facility.
• Critics of prison administration say the video highlights a lack of staff intervention and inadequate supervision.
• The Arizona Department of Corrections is investigating the incident, saying it was isolated despite acknowledging a recent increase in prison violence.

A video showing inmates using locks as weapons during an attack inside an Arizona prison is not the only of its kind, according to a prison reform advocate and a corrections union leader.

Both said the footage reflects deeper, systemic failures that prison officials have ignored.

The nearly three-minute cell phone video, posted online May 14, shows a bloodied inmate being chased and beaten by two others swinging padlocks tied to straps.

The attack moves from an interior dormitory space to an outdoor area at the Winchester Unit at Arizona State Prison Complex–Tucson. At no point do correctional staff appear on screen.

“This was not a ‘one-off,’” said Carlos Garcia, executive director of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association.

The association has discovered multiple videos of “illegal conduct with little or no staff intervention,” Garcia said in a statement.

Administrators who work for Corrections Director Ryan Thornell “have relinquished control to the inmate population,” Garcia said.

Donna Hamm, founder and director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, which watchdogs Arizona’s prison system, echoed Garcia’s concerns in an email to The Arizona Republic. She said there is little supervision in the prisons.

“In many cases of inmate-on-inmate assault, no staff will intervene,” she said. “They simply don’t want to get hurt themselves, and the inmates usually far outnumber the staff.”

She also said that open dorms have poor visibility and limited camera coverage, and that an “override” classification system has allowed high-risk inmates to be placed in lower-security housing.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry released a statement on May 20 saying the attack occurred on May 14 and that the department became aware of the video a day after it was posted online.

The statement said the fight was under investigation and that people involved, including the one in possession of a cell phone, would “be held accountable.”

While the department described the attack as an “isolated incident,” the statement said there had been a “recent spike in violence among the inmate population.”

As the department “continues the challenging work of corrections statewide, we are increasing our calls for better support for our staff, including funding for higher pay and better retention, recognizing the critical public safety and high-risk work officers manage each day,” the statement said.

No inmates suffered serious injuries, the department’s statement said. The bloodied man was treated at a hospital and returned to the prison the same day, it said.

The department did not describe the nature of the man’s injuries or define what it considered “serious.”

The department’s Incident Command System, which is tasked with dealing with these kinds of incidents, was activated that same day, the statement said.

The department did not say when staff began responding to the assault. The video shows no signs of intervention.

The department warned that public speculation by “third-party persons” created “intentional obstructions” to safety and diverted resources from its mission.

Hamm argued the department was downplaying the incident.

She said Thornell needed to focus on security and safety, including staff recruitment and training.

“The public doesn’t seem to understand that prisoners far outnumber the guards and that guards actually use prisoners (and need them) for cooperation and even for safety-related issues,” she wrote.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says her office is demanding answers after reported failures and disruptions at the Social Security Administration.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the attorney general asked for steps to be taken to address a service crisis reported by seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income residents in Arizona. According to state officials, the AG’s office has received hundreds of reports related to delayed payments, wrongful benefit suspensions, and an inability to reach the office by phone or in person.

“The Social Security Administration is failing the very people it was created to serve,” said Mayes. “From lost payments to seven-hour hold times to field offices turning away walk-ins, the stories we’ve heard from Arizonans are heartbreaking — and completely unacceptable. The Trump administration has an obligation to deliver these benefits promptly, and right now it is not meeting those obligations.”

The AG’s office is calling out Elon Musk, who led the Department of Government Efficiency and claimed that Social Security is “riddled” with fraud, despite the SSA’s Inspector General stating less than 1% of payments over a seven-year period were improper.

“Arizonans deserve a Social Security Administration that works — not one hollowed out by misinformation, mismanagement, and neglect,” said Mayes. “I urge the Trump administration to act now and restore lawful, accessible, and appropriate service for the people of Arizona.”

Mayes’ actions come after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a fellow Democrat, also called out the new anti-fraud checks following a report from NextGov, a news publication that covers technology within the federal government, found only two out of 110,000 were potentially fraudulent.

Last month, CNN reported that the Social Security Administration was pushing back the rollout of the new measure.

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MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A dog stolen in Arizona was found on the side of a road in Loxley.

Loxley Police said the Australian Shepherd was reported missing from Phoenix in 2023 and was discovered dead off County Road 68 last Thursday.

“At that point, that’s when they had mentioned that they had him and it wasn’t in the way that we had expected,” said the dog’s owner Aubrey Garcia. “They had said that he had been found tied up on the side of a dirt road, and he had his mouth bound, and he was deceased.”

It was the worst news possible for Aubrey Garcia. A phone call from 1700 miles away delivered devastation. The Phoenix, Arizona woman heard what happened to Kiyo, her missing Australian Shepherd from a Loxley Police officer. The details were very disturbing.

Investigators said Kiyo had noticeable trauma to his body and a rope tied around his mouth.

“It’s like 1700 miles straight down the I-10,” said Garcia. “I mean when I looked it up, I was like Loxley…I never heard of Loxley, Alabama.”

Garcia said what happened to Kiyo was her worst nightmare after searching for him for almost two years. She said she will never forget the day he disappeared from their backyard.

“I went out into the backyard after cleaning out his box and realizing that only two of my dogs were home and panic set in very, very quickly,” she said.

Garcia said her family frantically searched the neighborhood for hours, but it wasn’t until a few days later when someone in the area reported seeing what looked to be Kiyo taken by someone in a black SUV. She said ring camera footage didn’t give them the answer they were looking for.

“We just couldn’t get a clear shot of the vehicle at the time because it was it was 10:30 at night at this point four-door black car couldn’t make out make a model,” she said. “All they could all they could see is that it was in a really beat-up condition and that’s really what we had to go off of.”

Loxley Police said a witness reported seeing a four door sedan in the area where Kiyo was found on Thursday. While detectives continue investigating, Garcia has a message for the person responsible for Kiyo’s death.

“You deserve everything, everything that’s going to happen if you’re caught because you had every opportunity for you to do the right thing and return him when we gave so many outlets to return him anonymously,” she said. “You could’ve left him to the side of that dirt road without his mouth being bound and maybe he would’ve made it home.”

Garcia said Kiyo’s remains will be cremated and sent back to Phoenix. Loxley Police are asking anyone with any information about what happened to Kiyo to come forward.

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