County Jails Locked Down as Pitchess Brawls Injure 110

Male prisoners in all Los Angeles County jails were locked in their cells Tuesday after 109 inmates and a sheriff’s deputy were injured late Monday and Tuesday during the latest in a long-running series of racial brawls at the Pitchess jail in Castaic, authorities said.

Authorities “got information that the fighting was planned,” said Deputy Carrie Stuart, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman. “They were afraid other facilities would do the same thing,” she said.

The Pitchess Detention Center, where prisoners live in dorm-style barracks, has been racked by scores of fights between black and Latino prisoners in recent years. On any given day, thousands of prisoners are in the center, waiting for trial or for transfer to state prisons.

Blacks and Asians also clashed during Monday’s fighting at Pitchess.

An investigation of what triggered the brawls was still underway, Stuart said. But authorities locked down all county jails because of fears that the violence could spread as Pitchess prisoners were transported to different jails or to the courts, Stuart said.

She added that the department ordinarily does not lock up all prisoners after a brawl. “It’s just a means of precaution,” she said.

The lock-down at Pitchess, the Men’s Central Jail downtown and other facilities will remain in effect until authorities investigate Monday night’s brawls and are sure no further danger exists, Stuart said.

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Monday night’s brawls involved up to 439 prisoners--20 of whom were taken to the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center for treatment, Stuart said. The injuries included broken bones and puncture wounds.

She said others were treated at the jail clinic for minor injuries.

The injured deputy was slightly hurt when he fell as he was responding to a fight and required no treatment, Stuart said.

Prisoners were still being interviewed late Tuesday to determine the cause of the brawls.

The fights occurred in several dorms at the East and North County facilities and spread to other parts of the jail.

The first fight between blacks and Latinos started about 11:15 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes, said Benita Nichol, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

There were two more fights Monday night, one of them between blacks and Asians, and three additional fights Tuesday between blacks and Latinos.

Stuart said that about 1:15 p.m., 1,080 inmates fought in the jail’s East facility for 10 minutes. About 2:20 p.m., 330 inmates in the North County correctional facility fought for five minutes.

A third fight occurred about 3:40 p.m., when 125 inmates fought for 10 minutes.