Episode Details
Back to EpisodesFormer 1980's San Quentin C/O Tommy Arzate shares his SERT and Sec Squad legendary stories on Ash Wednesday
Published 1 month, 2 weeks ago
Description
Tommy Arzate is a legendary figure in the history of San Quentin State Prison, having served during the 1980s—an era widely considered the most violent in the institution's history. As a member of the Security Squad and one of the original Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) members (1982–1983), Arzate was on the front lines during a decade of unprecedented inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff violence.
His accounts often focus on the "old school" San Quentin, where the dominance of prison gangs like the Black Guerrilla Family (BGF), the Aryan Brotherhood (AB), and the Mexican Mafia (EME) led to a near-constant state of tactical warfare.