A recent inmate fight at the John Latorraca Correctional Center left several inmates injured and two dorms on lockdown.
The fight broke out among 39 gang dropouts Saturday evening when they were brought out from their dorms and placed in a caged yard for their daily recreation time, according to a jail incident report.
Correctional officers realized a fight was about to break out when inmates started to segregate themselves into two groups on each side of the yard, according to the jail incident report.
Within about 20 seconds, one group ran toward the other and the inmates began fighting, according to the report. Officers ordered the inmates down as several fights broke out in all areas of the yard. No inmates complied with orders to stop and get down.
Officers used pepperball rounds, pepper spray and batons to stop the fighting, according to the report. When the fighting stopped after two minutes, officers had begun to separate the inmates from each other when more inmates got up and started fighting.
More pepper spray and pepperballs were used to regain control of the yard, according to the report.
Jeff Miller, a correctional officer and spokesman for the Merced County Sheriff's Employee Association, said the inmate brawl was the biggest he's heard of at the jail in 27 years of working in corrections.
"Thank God we had experienced officers there who recognized what was about to happen and knew how to respond," he said, adding that the fight broke out because some of the dropouts wanted to start a new gang, but others didn't.
Inmates suffered injuries to their hands, jaws, and abrasions to their faces, knees and hands, according to the report. No officers suffered any major injuries. Both dorms involved in the fight were placed on lockdown pending the outcome of an investigation.
Rudy Gonzalez, a Teamsters law enforcement league representative affiliated with the local sheriff's department workers union, described the outbreak of violence as "unprecedented.
"The uprising shows that inmates can and will exploit our staffing levels," he said in an email. "Cuts to corrections have affected our ability to maintain safety for the inmates, staff and public."
However, sheriff's officials have said the difficult cuts have come out of necessity because of large county budget deficits.
Sheriff Mark Pazin couldn't be reached for comment.
Weapons, such as razors and shanks, were also used during the fight.
"During the fight when officers had contained the situation, I heard a few inmates state that the fight wasn't fair because one dorm brought out weapons," according to the reporting officer.
Weapons have become more of a concern at the jails recently, especially after a cell search of gang members Jan. 26 at the Main Jail turned up five shanks ranging from five to 12 inches long.
The weapons were made after a Jan. 12 search on the same gang members that also turned up several shanks as well as other contraband and banned devices.
The latest search was initiated to recover missing pieces of metal from the television stands and television cages in the cells. Miller said maintenance staff recently removed the televisions from the cells of the inmates who are suspected of making the weapons.
Reporter Mike North can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or mnorth@mercedsunstar.com.
E-Mail
Print
