A CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT was seriously injured during a physical altercation with an incarcerated person at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center last week, prompting an extended lockdown and concerns over punishment policies at the prison.
The Sept. 23 altercation in the Badger housing unit at San Quentin was captured on audio and video surveillance systems. No weapons were involved and the incarcerated individual was separated from the prison’s general population.
However, over 2,500 incarcerated individuals at the prison were placed on lockdown pending an investigation and were notified of the altercation on their ViaPath tablets with a message that announced a “modified program has been implemented to investigate ongoing threats against correctional staff.”
All incarcerated individuals attending rehabilitative, educational and vocational programming were escorted back to their cells immediately. All programs at the prison were canceled, including yard access, visiting with families, and other privileges such as phone calls and video visits, religious services, and canteen purchases of packaged food and basic necessities.
The lockdown lasted nearly a week before ending Monday.
Since hunger strikes at Pelican Bay State Prison in 2011 and 2013, there has been a rising level of concern among incarcerated people over what is described as “collective group punishment.” This occurs when under the guise of security, an entire prison population or selected group are placed on lockdown, which is commonly referred to as a “modified program.” During these programs, only critical prison workers or incarcerated individuals with emergency medical appointments are released from their cells.
Two class action lawsuits and settlement agreements have occurred over the years — Mitchell v. Cate, and Ashker v. Governor of California — that equate modified programs to unbearable “solitary confinement” and dehumanizing conditions.
For six days, 2,500 individuals were kept confined to their cells for almost 24 hours a day without outdoor exercise. Critical kitchen workers and inmate day laborers and hospital workers were allowed to go to work to maintain the prison, but no individuals were allowed to attend educational and vocational programs or mental health-related programming to maintain their rehabilitation and healing.
Isolated incident began with cell search
According to many people inside the South Block housing unit where Badger is located, the incident was isolated and erupted over a disagreement about a cell search. The incarcerated individual is also someone allegedly with a history of mental health problems.
Many people at San Quentin are in fact assigned to mental health treatment programs, and Badger is a housing unit where incarcerated individuals are housed who have significant behavioral problems, though every housing facility was locked down as a result.
San Quentin is a medium custody, Level II non-designated programming facility — code words for a non-active gang activity facility. There are numerous rehabilitation and vocational programs that operate and a “state of the art” Nordic-inspired $239 million education center currently under construction. There is a canine companion program. Many incarcerated residents are dog handlers, peer mentors, drug counselors, newspaper reporters, filmmakers, podcasters, and computer coders. Some even crochet/knit hats, scarves and sweaters. Residents say violence against staff is rare and it is untrue that there is some wider conspiracy to assault staff at the facility.
Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023 announced a “California model” of reform that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation describes on its website as an “approach to normalcy in corrections and rehabilitation,” but some incarcerated people say authorities have moved away from that approach.
“There has been a noticeable erosion of the collaborative spirit that represents the goals of the California model,” said incarcerated person Giovanni Gladden. “Many staff have adopted an antagonistic attitude, counter to humanizing and fostering a normalized friendlier environment. Some staff have normalized hostility.”
Earlier this year, the CDCR eliminated California model resource teams due to alleged budgetary constraints. The teams were employed to engage incarcerated individuals and use dynamic security to foster better relationships. Dynamic security is described as a foundational pillar of the California model and is a concept that focuses on positive relationship-building between correctional officers and the incarcerated population.
“There has been a noticeable erosion of the collaborative spirit that represents the goals of the California model. Many staff have adopted an antagonistic attitude, counter to humanizing and fostering a normalized friendlier environment. Some staff have normalized hostility.” Giovanni Gladden, San Quentin resident
The dismantling also came at a time when early results from six core research teams studied from January 2023 until February 2025 showed a reduction of use of force incidents and rule violation reports.
Violent incidents against staff went down by 27% in institutions where dynamic security policies were put in place in the state, according to Ashton Harris, a public information officer hosting an episode of the podcast “CDCR Unlocked.”
The California model is losing its appeal for many in CDCR and it appears to be deteriorating at San Quentin despite the new rehabilitation center.
Pigeons, ventilation woes add strain
On Sept. 25, officers in San Quentin’s North Block walked the tiers of the housing unit looking for random incarcerated individuals to be interviewed about the incident occurring in Badger, which is about a quarter-mile away. This created an atmosphere of agitation and frustration among a population who had already endured days of continuous confinement to their cells.
In North Block, incarcerated individuals are confined to small, cramped double cells, with very little ventilation, due to the housing units’ windows being welded shut.
The ventilation system itself is broken and flocks of pigeons nest inside them, leaving their excrement flooding the tiers and catwalks, making it even harder to breathe without causing ailments. In a memorandum released in June by associate warden Eric Patao, the dangers of inhaling pigeon excrement was highlighted.
Incarcerated individuals are totally reliant upon prison officials to protect their health and safety. CDCR and the California Correctional Health Care Services refer to incarcerated people as “patients.”
The memo about the pigeons is dated June 30. It lists possible contagions as: H5N1 avian flu, cryptococcosis (fungal infection), histoplasmosis (lung infection) and psittacosis (bacterial infection).
Depriving patients access to their mental health, substance abuse and other rehabilitative treatment programs, while allowing others out of their cells to help maintain the prisons, is a serious concern for patients at the prison and their care. Some incarcerated individuals believe that while assaulting a correctional officer must be taken seriously, collective group punishment should not be the method officials use to respond.
“What’s happening right now is not consistent with the California model, the new building coming, or this being a rehabilitation center,” said Gladden. “Many of us want the California model and we should not be deprived for the actions of a few.”
Steve Brooks is a California Local News Fellow with Bay City News Foundation, reporting from inside San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. His perspective gives readers insight into issues and news from inside the prison. See more of his work at Inside/Out on Local News Matters.