[music playing]
CO D'ANGELO: Hey, let's clear the corridor, guys.
Come on.
PRISONER 1: The rookies are trying
to come in and make a difference and show
that, like, they're Superman.
CO D'ANGELO: Cut it out.
Go back to your dorms.
GREGORY MERAZ: The rookies, the new guys,
they want to puff their chest out and walk
around like they're bad.
They want to-- they have something to prove, you know?
There's being disrespectful, and then there's doing your job.
There's being a man and being a CO or whatever,
and then there's being a [bleep]..
MAJ. WILLIAM EDGMAN: Right now, the up
and coming is the Burquenos.
Their numbers are growing.
They're constantly recruiting.
A lot of people automatically assume that your leadership are
the most dangerous ones that you have to watch out for,
when in reality, it's your lower gang member who
is trying to build that name for himself
so he can work up the ranks.
Those are the most volatile and dangerous inmates you have.
Hey, clear that doorway.
Inmate Meraz and all his little friends,
they've just been messing around all day.
Cellmate, clear the forward door.
Back to your dorms if you ain't using the restroom.
CO D'ANGELO: Getting under our skin a little bit.
[inaudible].
CO D'ANGELO: Let's go.
Clear that doorway.
At least you know.
That's why you're in your pod.
Now I'm going to write you up.
OFFICER 1: Dude, we're going to have
frickin' write him up, bro.
CO D'ANGELO: Hey!
OFFICER 1: We're going to have to write him up, dude.
He keeps frickin' horseplaying.
OFFICER 2: Rookie officers, they don't understand the way
the gangs think or how they operate on a day-to-day basis,
because they're going to test him,
they're going to taunt him.
They know he's green.
I'm going to pull Meraz out, bro.
He's pissing me off.
Not your sidekick, just you.
Huh?
Let's go to the corridor.
What's your problem, bro?
All you.
What do you mean, what's my problem?
Why are you acting like that?
You need to check your attitude.
You don't do this every day.
You don't do this [bleep] everyday.
You want me to check your attitude?
CO D'ANGELO: Do you want me to write you up on some [bleep]??
All right.
I am going to do my job.
How are you going to--
You better stop back.
You better stop.
You better step back.
[music playing]
- You're pulling me out here-- - Cuff up.
- [bleep]. - Cuff up.
- You're pulling me out here-- - Cuff up.
CO D'ANGELO: Cuff up.
Cuff up.
Stop resisting.
He keeps resisting, drop his ass.
Let's go.
I got him, bro.
That's actually the first time I've ever had
an altercation with an inmate.
So yeah, I mean, I was getting a little worked up,
because I didn't really know how I was going to react,
because I thought he was going to swing on me or something,
because he did take an aggressive stance.
With these guys, you never know.
They could have weapons on them.
Every situation like that may be a life-or-death situation.
There's no room for mistakes.
My adrenaline is pumping pretty--
a lot right now.
Yeah.
So it's-- yeah.
Hey, D'Angelo.
How's it going?
You can have a seat.
I just want to talk to you about that incident.
I kind of froze for a second because it
was my first incident like that with an inmate.
I feel like I might have gave him too many chances,
compared to any of you guys, so I think that's what I
could do differently next time.
What I think could have happened a little differently,
if he takes a step forward, immediately, you put the hand
out, go to your OC spray.
Hands on is second.
OK?
OK.
Cool. - OK.
Thank you.
CO D'ANGELO: Thanks.
In the academy, they told us how to handle use of force.
When you're actually in a confrontation with an inmate
where your blood is flowing and your adrenaline's pumping,
it's kind of hard to do exactly by the book.
In the heat of the moment, you just kind of
revert to what you know.