The Beating You Weren’t Supposed to See: A Former AZDOC Officer Speaks Out

Let me tell you something right now — that viral 3-minute video Fox 10 Phoenix aired last week? That wasn’t the whole story. That was just the tip of the blood-soaked iceberg.

As a former Arizona Department of Corrections Officer, I know exactly what you're looking at in that video. You’re seeing the tail end of a brutal, calculated beatdown that started long before the cameras started rolling. That inmate? He’d already been dragged, pummeled, and bled out — by the time he was being chased down the entire length of the prison yard like a damn scene out of a gladiator movie.

Fox 10’s report referred to it as a fight that “spilled out into the prison yard.” SPILLED OUT? Like someone knocked over a soda. No — this wasn’t some spontaneous scuffle. That man was hunted.

Let’s Break Down the Bullsh*t

Donna Hamm’s Comment:

“The inmates are running the asylum, and that's not what the taxpayers in Arizona are paying for.”

Newsflash: the inmates have always run the yard. That’s not some shocking revelation — it’s the reality of prison politics. Whether staff want to admit it or not, politics govern everything behind those gates. It’s about respect, reputation, and survival. That’s why inmates hustle harder inside than they ever did outside — the stakes are higher.

And if DOC staff weren’t so damn corrupt — bringing in drugs, phones, and contraband to pad their wallets — maybe the balance of power wouldn’t be so skewed. But you get paid under the table to look the other way or slip a few favors in exchange for obedience, and guess what? You’ve officially become part of the problem.

Another Hamm Quote:

“No one came to his aid, no staff member attempted in any way to stop the assault and that includes when the assault spilled out into the open recreation area.”

OF COURSE NOT. You think guards were just too slow to react? Hell no. Many of them are paid off or too scared to interfere. This wasn’t negligence — this was compliance. You don’t work inside long without learning how deep that corruption runs.

And before you go clutching your pearls about COs being “outnumbered” or “undertrained,” let me remind you: in DT (defensive tactics) training, I had to survive a 3-minute free-for-all against multiple instructors who knew how to fight. I walked out with a dislocated jaw, a bruised rib, and a torn patella. And that was TRAINING. In the field, I took a busted rib and a split lip breaking up a fight over a football game.

But I earned respect. I respected my inmates. And 9 times out of 10, they had my back. But walk in there like your badge makes you untouchable? You’ll be hated faster than you can say “count time.”

Hamm Again:

“When you look at the video, and you see that inmate swinging a metal lock on what appears to be some sort of a strap or a belt...”

It IS a lock on a belt. No guessing necessary. Those things are buried all over the yard. Inmates hide them like Easter eggs for riots, beefs, and survival. Shanks, locks, weapons — they know where their insurance policies are stashed. This didn’t just “happen” — it was ready.

And for the record? That wasn’t about territory or drugs. That was over a password. Probably to a phone, tablet, or private comms. The kind you pay a CO to smuggle in and charge you double on the back end.

And then... the AZDOC's Response:

“No inmates received serious injuries.”

You saw the video. Blood everywhere. That man was beaten in the head with a combo lock over and over. If you call that “not serious,” I don’t want to know what your idea of “severe” is. A body bag?

“This was an isolated incident.”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Just last week, two more lock beatings happened in two different Arizona prisons. And wouldn’t you know it — camera footage “cut out” mid-beating. Happens all the time, like a magic trick. Except it’s not magic — it’s cover-up.

I’ve heard it. I’ve seen it. I was told the whole play-by-play before it happened, by inmates who trusted me enough to be honest. And you know what? They were always right. Every damn time.

So, What’s the Real Problem?

Let me make it plain: these prisons are not about rehabilitation. They’re about profit. The system was built to keep bodies in bunks and dollars in pockets. And when you mix a broken system with unchecked corruption, violence is inevitable.

I’m not here to excuse the inmates. Some of them? Yeah, they earned their spot. I believe in accountability. But there’s a difference between paying your dues and being beaten within an inch of your life because the system profits off chaos.

If you’re shocked by what you saw in that video, you should be. But don’t be naive enough to think that was a one-off. That was just one time a camera didn’t cut out in time.

I may be on the outside now, but I will never stop speaking up. Because unlike the suits sitting in those ADOC offices, I actually gave a damn about my inmates. I knew their names. I listened. And I saw the cracks in the system — cracks that are now wide open and bleeding all over the damn yard.

Let me make something else clear — I’ve seen the whispers, the shade, the posts in your little “prison wife” groups.Y’all want to call me fake? Say I don’t know what I’m talking about? That I’m too loud? Too bold? That I should “sit down and choose my battles”?

Well, y’all keep believing that.Go ahead and keep sipping your “stay in your lane” Kool-Aid, and handing out passive advice to “take a seat in the back.” You do you.

But me?

Was I arrested the night my husband relapsed and used?Sure was.Was I doing anything other than sitting in that passenger seat, next to a man I love, who was at rock bottom?Sure wasn’t.

I didn’t use. I didn’t run. I didn’t lie.But I damn sure got dragged into it.

Because that’s how the system works. Proximity to pain gets punished. Innocence gets buried under “guilt by association.” But I’m not hiding from that. I’m not ashamed of that. So go ahead — keep posting those links and throwing around that mugshot like it’s a badge of dishonor. You’re not exposing me. You’re just showing the world what people endure when they stand by someone in the middle of their storm.

I have nothing to hide.And more importantly —

I DID NOTHING WRONG.

And still — every damn day — I choose to show up.I choose to help others survive this same broken machine.I choose to speak the truth, even when it burns bridges and rattles cages.

Because I know how fast things move behind those gates. I know the unspoken codes, the politics, the setups, the hustle, the heartbreak. I lived it on both sides of the badge.

So I will keep fighting.I will keep helping the ones who want real change.I will keep speaking up — whether it’s over a “small” issue or a full-blown, institutional cover-up.

Because the day we stop fighting…The day we start “choosing our battles” and accepting “just the way it is”…That’s the day the darkness wins.

And when it does?All of y’all sitting in the back better keep your mouths shut — because you chose silence over standing up.

Arizona: DO BETTER. People: DO BETTER!