Angry Prisoners at ‘Tent City’ Jail Riot, Set Fires

Hundreds of inmates upset about conditions in a “tent city” jail rioted Sunday, arming themselves with poles from their tents, setting fires and trapping 11 guards for nearly three hours.

The situation was resolved after the inmates spoke with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio about their complaints of living in the tents, bad food and being assaulted by guards.

“Everything seems to be under control. I met with the little committee that they had formed,” said Arpaio, the self-styled “toughest sheriff in America” known for hard-core tactics such as chain gangs and a ban on cigarettes.

About 300 to 400 inmates were involved in the riot, which broke out at 1:50 p.m. and lasted until 4:45 p.m. At its peak, inmates tried to get at eight detention officers locked in the control tower and trapped three more in the tent compound. Two of those were treated for minor injuries.

Arpaio said the riot began with what he believed was one inmate assaulting another, and then grew because of general discontent and the fact that only three guards were trying to watch over the 600 inmates in the tent lockup.