A racially charged brawl broke out at a Los Angeles jail, sending guards for their pepper spray and a handful of inmates to the hospital.
Guards fired rubber pellets into the riot that involved more than 60 inmates, the Los Angeles Times reported. The fight was rooted in race tensions, one jail official said to the paper. Hispanic and black inmates of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility started the fight shortly after noon on Tuesday. Guards were able to subdue the inmates in a matter of minutes.
The jail spokesman, Steve Whitmore, downplayed the event.
“This is something that does occur throughout our jail system from time to time,” Mr. Whitmore said, as quoted by the L.A. Times. “People in our jails are under a lot of tension … and it does regrettably happen.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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