Soledad inmate dies after alleged altercation with prison guards
SOLEDAD -- A Soledad state prison inmate serving life for attempted carjacking and attempted kidnapping died Thursday after an "altercation" with guards, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
The death of Joseph Altamirano is under investigation by the Correctional Training Facility Investigative Services Unit, corrections officials said in a statement.
Altamirano "died after he attacked correctional officers during an altercation" about 11 a.m. Thursday while guards were releasing prisoners from their cells, according to the statement.
Corrections officials said Altamirano yelled at and struck an officer with his fist. The officer hit back, knocking the prisoner to the ground.
When Altamirano "attempted to re-engage," officials said, "staff activated their personal alarm devices, gave verbal orders to 'get down' and then used pepper spray when Altamirano continued to try to assault an officer."
Altamirano began having trouble breathing after he was held to the ground and put in restraints, prison officials said. A doctor at an outside hospital declared him dead at 12:36 p.m.
One guard was treated for injuries at the prison. Two were treated at outside medical facilities and released, officials said.
Altamirano was imprisoned at Soledad, in Monterey County, on Nov. 24, 2003, after being sentenced in Santa Clara County, the prison system said.
The coroner's division of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office will determine Altamirano's cause of death.
The prison in Soledad houses more than 4,000 minimum- and medium-security male prisoners, according to the corrections department.
