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| 21 inmates injured in fight at County Jail |
| By Chicago Sun Times |
| Published: 10/18/2004 |
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A melee that broke out between rival gangs at Cook County (Ill.) Jail on Saturday left 21 inmates injured, including six who were taken to hospitals outside the prison with stab wounds and broken limbs, officials said. The fight began about 1:30 p.m. in Division 9, a maximum-security tier housing the most violent inmates at the jail at 26th and California, said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for Sheriff Michael Sheahan. "This is the type of incident that occurs at Cook County Jail, based on the fact that we house very violent felons for a long time,'' Daly said. "Just as if it were a very large family confined to a very small home, tensions build up.'' Fire Department ambulances queued up in front of the jail as inmate after inmate was carried out on stretchers. Three were taken to Stroger Hospital, three to Mount Sinai Hospital. Of the six, three suffered critical injuries, fire officials said. Fifteen other inmates were treated at the jail's Cermak Hospital for minor cuts and bruises, jail officials said. "All we know is there was some kind of disturbance with the inmates," fire chief Kevin Roche said. "We went in there and triaged the victims. They're all basically lacerations and puncture wounds to the head, chest and shoulder area." The inmates involved were being held in the jail on charges ranging from drug possession to first-degree murder. The fight erupted in a day room where inmates awaiting trial watch television or make phone calls. Division 9 typically houses 45 to 50 inmates. The injured were stabbed with "shanks," homemade knives often made of sharpened pieces of metal. One officer likely was guarding the tier when the fight began, officials said. Daly said the sheriff attributes the turmoil, in part, to overcrowding and to the length of time inmates remain there while awaiting trial. The jail has a maximum capacity of 9,800, but currently houses 10,500 inmates. And the number of correctional officers assigned to the jail -- 2,800 -- has not increased since 1995, she said. Sheahan has requested 200 more positions under the current budget. |
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