A leaked surveillance video obtained by ABC15 shows a corrections officer being sucker punched and then beaten for approximately three minutes and 35 seconds without any intervention from other staff. The incident occurred on July 28 at the Morey Unit of Arizona’s Lewis prison complex.
Carlos Garcia, head of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association, stated that the assaulted officer continues to experience complications from the attack. Garcia described the assault as a significant indicator of systemic safety and security failures within Arizona's prison system. "He sucker-punches. His radio comes off, as you see. It’s over here, and now, he has no idea where he’s at, and the inmate’s wailing on him for no reason at all," Garcia told ABC15.
The inmate identified as the assailant is Martin Franco, who has a history of legal entanglements dating back to 2001 and is currently serving time for aggravated assault. His prison profile indicates a past of assaulting both inmates and staff. Garcia commented, "He’s lucky he didn’t kill the staff member. He could have killed him."
The Arizona Department of Corrections stated that Franco, previously classified as a maximum-security risk, was placed in a lower-custody unit due to his "prior behaviors, including his active participation in case planning." The department characterized the incident as an "isolated, one-on-one attack," asserting that all other inmates were secured. However, the video appears to show a second inmate outside of his cell during the assault.
Garcia also expressed concerns that new, less experienced officers are being discouraged from reporting safety issues. "New staff that don’t have the experience of these convicts are being indoctrinated into, ‘Hey, it’s okay to be alone, be a team player, shut your mouth.’ So there’s no pushback on what’s dangerous," he said.
According to official department statistics reported by ABC15, overall assaults have increased under the current leadership. Inmate-on-inmate assaults rose from 1,436 in fiscal year 2023 to 3,605 in fiscal year 2026. Staff assaults climbed from 426 to 528 during the same period, while staff injuries more than doubled from 38 to 78.
The Morey Unit at the Lewis Complex, which contains eight housing units of varying security levels, has a history of violence and has been nicknamed “Murder Morey.” In 2019, ABC15 reported on issues including malfunctioning cell door locks at the same facility. Garcia previously referred to the prison as "Jurassic Park" and reiterated the comparison after viewing the recent video, stating, "This video is a rarity. This escaped Jurassic Park. This dinosaur broke through the gate. Here we have everything that we dreaded, neatly in one video."