SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Police said Thursday a disturbance at South Dakota State Penitentiary had been quelled and inmates returned to their cells.
Sioux Falls Police officer Don Rotherham said as many as 200 inmates, who trashed a school and set numerous fires, surrendered about 8:30 a.m. and by 9 a.m. most had been returned to their cells.
'It's just about over,' Rotherham said. 'They're getting them cleared (from the prison yard) and back in the cells.'
Authorities said two guards were taken to a hospital with injuries suffered in a scuffle with prisoners. Authorities said the guards were beaten with a softball bat in a recreation yard at the prison when the disturbance broke out late Wednesday.
Inmates issued a list of 17 demands. The demands included the firing of a prison staff member and a change in disciplinary procedures. Rotherham said prison officials refused to accede to any of the demands.
