Hot Words Over Kool-Aid Spark Melee in Crowded El Cajon Jail

Sheriff’s deputies wearing riot gear were called to the El Cajon Jail on Thursday to quell a disturbance that erupted after inmates began arguing about a lunchtime allotment of Kool-Aid, a Sheriff’s Department official said.

Fifty to 60 men on a seventh-floor cellblock joined in the melee that began at 11:40 a.m., apparently when an inmate complained that his serving of the sugary drink dished up by a trusty was too small, Capt. Benny L. McLaughlin, commander of the jail in downtown El Cajon, said.

The incident quickly turned into a racial fight between black and Latino inmates, McLaughlin said. The inmates were brought under control in 15 to 20 minutes, he said, adding that no jail personnel were injured and no inmates were seriously hurt.

‘Tremendously Overcrowded’

The Kool-Aid dispute was the “spark” that ignited the fight, McLaughlin said, but added, “It’s really about overcrowding. We are so tremendously overcrowded.”

At the time the fight broke out, there were 318 men housed in cellblock 7C, which was designed for 48 people, McLaughlin said.

“Two guys started it and everyone joined sides,” he said. “They were throwing everything they could get their hands on.”

The appearance of more than 20 deputies “standing at the door with batons, face shields and flak jackets” was enough to persuade the inmates to return to their cells, McLaughlin said.

The temperature on the cellblock, which has windows that do not open, reached about 90 degrees Thursday despite the fact that the building has central air conditioning, he said. It is impossible to keep the jail cool with so many inmates jammed into them, McLaughlin said.

“We’ve got it cranked down as low as we can get it,” he said. “We’re literally freezing the judges out.” The building also houses several courtrooms.

Seven to 12 inmates are living in cells designed for one person, McLaughlin said. Fights have occurred frequently over the summer in the facility, which was built to house 120 inmates, but now houses 701, he said.

In such an atmosphere, “little things take on great significance,” McLaughlin said.