19 Injured in Brawl Between Latino and Black Prisoners
Nineteen inmates were injured Tuesday when black and Latino prisoners fought in a 90-men dormitory at the Pitchess jail, the latest in a long series of such brawls, authorities reported.
The fight broke out at 3:55 p.m. when a Latino inmate accused a black inmate of stealing from him, said Deputy Rich Erickson, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman.
It is not known how many of the inmates housed in the medium-security dormitory at the sprawling Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho participated in the brawl, Erickson said.
Inmates used broomstick handles, homemade jail knives and telephone receivers as weapons in the 10-minute fight before sheriff’s deputies fired three rubber bullets to restore order, Erickson said.
The two most seriously injured men were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital where one was treated for a puncture wound in the chest and another was treated for severe facial cuts.
Nine others were taken to County-USC Medical Center, where they were treated for a variety of cuts and bruises, Erickson said. The other inmates involved in the fight were treated at the jail, he said.
Erickson said jail officials will try to determine who was responsible for initiating the fight and transfer them to other jail facilities.
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