San Diego County Jail Riot May Have Been Planned, Officials Say

Rather than being a spontaneous outbreak of violence stemming from overcrowded conditions, rioting at the San Diego County Jail in El Cajon may have been a carefully planned, racially motivated attack, authorities said Thursday.

Jail officials believe that Wednesday night’s riot that left 36 inmates injured resulted from a plot by a group of Latino inmates to attack black prisoners, jail commander Capt. Benny McLaughlin said.

He declined to elaborate, but he did say that criminal charges may be filed against some inmates.

Nonetheless, officials began reducing the jail’s population, transferring 68 inmates Thursday to San Diego’s downtown Central Jail. Those remaining in El Cajon were placed in total lock-down Thursday, with all visits, recreation and exercise canceled.

Officials said the riot began about 8:15 p.m. along a cellblock where two dozen cells built to hold a single prisoner were housing about 175 inmates. The jail, built for 120 prisoners, had 780 Wednesday.

“A lot of men are sleeping on the floor, under the bunks and in and around the toilets,” McLaughlin said. “That kind of overcrowding certainly breeds hostile tensions.”

Alex Landon, an attorney who has worked with San Diego’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter on a lawsuit to ease the overcrowding, said, “In a crowded correctional facility, there are going to be racial tensions.”

Two inmates were airlifted to the UC San Diego Medical Center, one with a slashed throat and the other suffering a head injury after being kicked down a flight of stairs.

Others were treated at the medical center and the jail infirmary for injuries ranging from cuts, broken noses and possible broken bones.

Guards waited out the riot, McLaughlin said.

“No way would we send any men in there,” said McLaughlin, adding that inmates “tire out easy in that kind of fighting situation.”

The inmates finally returned voluntarily to their cells when deputies were able to shout above the sounds of the fight to convince the men to lock themselves down so medical attention could be provided to the injured, authorities said.

One deputy, Michael J. Munsey, said the riot apparently started when a black inmate was stabbed in the neck.

“People just went crazy, just beating each other, picking up whatever they could to use as weapons,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I was scared to death.”

Times staff writer Patrick McDonnell contributed to this report.