Soledad guards in riot gear at 3 a.m. July 20 snatched 200+ Black prisoners from their bunks, brutalized them, crammed them into the kitchen for hours, zip-tied, unmasked
By Tasha Williams, San Francisco Bay View
In the pre-dawn hours of Monday, July 20, white and Hispanic guards at the Correctional Training Facility at Soledad State Prison in California violently ripped hundreds of Black prisoners from their bunks, regardless of good behavior and lack of gang affiliation. The men were slammed around by wannabe commandos in full riot gear, then zip-tied and led in the dark to the chow hall. The men were barefoot, wearing only what they’d fallen asleep in. They weren’t even allowed to grab their masks.
Reports from the prison indicate upwards of 200 men were assaulted then forced to sit shoulder to shoulder with other unmasked inmates in the kitchen as a tower sniper was called just in case one or some of the cuffed men needed to be executed on the spot. The men were made to sit there for hours without even being told what was happening.
My husband was one of those inmates. He was violently tossed off his top bunk – woke up as he was in the air – and slammed his head into the cinderblock wall. His head still hurts nearly 24 hours later. His hands were bound so tightly that they turned blue. I know what you’re thinking: “But what did HE do?” That’s the thing. He, just like countless other Black men in his building, had done nothing to deserve the treatment they received Monday at 3 a.m.
Featured Image, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
Full article @ San Francisco Bay View