As he told KNPR's State of Nevada in May, the new director of Nevada's prison system says he's ending the use of birdshot behind bars.
Nevada Department of Corrections Director James Dzurenda said Tuesday that prison guards will use less-lethal options such as rubber bullets when fights erupt.
"To me, I don't think it's necessary," Dzurenda told KNPR's State of Nevada.
The move comes after a 2014 shooting in High Desert State Prison that left a 28-year-old inmate dead. A former correctional officer trainee has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case.
An outside group that reviewed Nevada's use-of-force practices recommended last fall that the state move away from shotguns and try to defuse violent situations in other ways.
Corrections officials said birdshot was introduced in Nevada prisons in the early 1980s. The tiny shotgun pellets are not supposed to be shot directly at prisoners, but instead are aimed at the ground or wall ricocheting into prisoners.
Dzurenda said Gov. Brian Sandoval fully supports the decision.