12 Inmates Hurt in Brawl at Pitchess Jail
A dozen prisoners suffered minor injuries Thursday in a brawl involving about 120 inmates at the Pitchess jail, authorities said.
The melee, between black and Latino inmates in two barracks in the south wing of the jail, began at 8:40 a.m., according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. George Ducoulombier.
Guards used verbal commands and pepper spray to break up the fight, Ducoulombier said.
Injured inmates had minor bruises, scrapes and sprains and were treated at the facility’s medical clinic.
No deputies were injured in the two-minute incident, and authorities said the cause was still under investigation.
Thursday’s disturbance was the latest in a string of racially motivated incidents going back several years at the Pitchess detention facility. The fight was typical for such incidents, which have involved from a dozen to 100 inmates.
There have been 150 racially motivated brawls since 1990, sheriff’s officials have said.
The wing where the brawl occurred is made up of inmates awaiting transfer to Los Angeles County Jail or awaiting trial.
About 1,400 are now incarcerated at Pitchess, sheriff’s officials said.
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