Deputy, 13 Inmates Hurt in Jail Brawl
A fight between African American and Latino inmates at the Pitchess Detention Center left a sheriff’s deputy and 13 inmates injured, authorities reported Sunday.
The brawl broke out just after 4 p.m. Saturday in a dormitory at the jail’s North Facility, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Angie Prewett said. It was the third racial brawl at the jail in two weeks.
More than half of the 100 inmates in the dormitory were involved in the outbreak, she said. The inmates battled with food trays and milk crates for about five minutes before officers fired one rubber bullet and one nonlethal “sting-ball” grenade--designed to release hundreds of rubber pellets--to stop the fighting.
A deputy was slightly injured when he fell while helping to quell the disturbance, Prewett said.
Of the 13 inmates who complained of injuries, five were treated at the jail clinic, while the remaining eight were taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for sutures, she said.
Prewett said she had no information about the nature of the inmates’ injuries.
Officials are still trying to determine what sparked the fighting, Prewett said.
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