and for an intense 30 minutes, officers struggled to contain the chaos. >> i had a 180-degree vision of the yard, and it was a war zone. >> terror in a california vision after members unleashed a blood-thirsty attack. >> the thing that was so extraordinary is that the rifles didn't stop them. >> february 23rd, 2000, crescent city, california. deep behind the redwood curtain is pelican bay state prison, one of the country's highest correctional security facilities, a super max prison, housing some of the most dangerous and violent criminals. teda boyle is a retired lieutenant from pelican bay. she was a watch commander on the day of the riot. >> the kind of people that were there were guilty of some of the most heinous crimes. murder, strong-armed robbery,