Racial Tensions Blamed in Series of Jail Fights

Racial tensions among prisoners have led to at least five large-scale fights at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho since Saturday, resulting in injuries to 45 inmates, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported Tuesday.

Racially motivated brawls at the five-facility county jail are common, but tend to occur in spurts, said Sheriff’s Cmdr. Robert Spierer. The most recent outbreak of fights appears to have been caused by a series of isolated temper flare-ups, he said, but word of each disturbance has spread to other inmates and further increased tensions.

“It’s not unusual . . . when the weather warms up for tempers to flare up,” said Spierer, who commands the 10,000-inmate jail.

A disciplinary dorm with restricted privileges has been set up for inmates suspected of participating in the brawls, he said. The department is considering filing criminal charges against one inmate suspected of inciting much of the fighting, Spierer said.

No deputies were injured during the latest series of disturbances. Six of the 45 injured inmates were hospitalized. The most serious appeared to be an inmate who sustained a puncture wound to the chest. He was listed in good condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

The first fight started shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday when about 130 black and Latino inmates at the jail’s maximum security East Facility began arguing over who would sit where to watch television, said Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Cannon.

He said the prisoners fought with their fists and feet for about five minutes before deputies exploded four grenades containing stinging plastic pellets, stopping the fighting.

Ten inmates were treated for minor injuries at the jail’s clinic, Cannon said.

Four fights erupted Monday, the first at 12:20 a.m. at the jail’s medium security South Facility when a black inmate told a Latino inmate to be quiet, Cannon said. A skirmish between about 30 black and Latino inmates followed, which lasted about three minutes before deputies stopped it using pepper spray. Eight inmates were treated for minor injuries at the jail’s clinic.

Shortly before 4:30 p.m. another fight broke out at the South Facility, this time among 120 inmates in four barracks, Cannon said. The inmates fought with broom handles and jail-made knives for about seven minutes before deputies stopped the fight with pepper spray and verbal commands.

Three inmates received puncture wounds and eight others were treated for minor injuries at the jail’s clinic, Cannon said.

The other fights erupted at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. in a dorm at the East Facility, each involving 50 to 60 inmates, he added. Five of the six inmates injured in the second disturbance had to be taken to County-USC Medical Center for treatment.