Four sheriff deputies at the men’s central prison were attacked by a group of prisoners armed with Shanks on Sunday, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials and two sources within the agency.
There is no video footage of the incident as hundreds of cameras inside the facility were closed for maintenance earlier that morning, according to an internal memo shared with The Times.
Violence broke out shortly after noon, when the aides were escorting about 12 men from 2,500 residential areas to another part of the prison, the memo said.
The man allegedly attacked him when the aide tried to pull one of the prisoners aside, the memo said. Three other inmates then joined, punching the guards and stomping their heads until they were unconscious.
The aide was stabbed in the head and maintained a 1-inch puncture wound that required staples, according to notes and two sources.
Three other deputies rushed to his aid and eventually stopped the attack, but all were injured in the process.
All four deputies were then taken to hospital where they were treated and released, the department said. The inmates were also medically evaluated and remained detained at the Men’s Central Prison.
Authorities later recovered a five-inch shank that was allegedly hidden in the inmate’s boxer shorts, the memo said.
Even if no one was killed, the Murder Bureau is investigating the case. Under the department’s policy, the department will consult with the jurisdiction of the investigation and decide if it is injured badly enough to require hospital care.
Based on the severity of the lieutenant’s injury, in this case the department decided to hold the case and process the investigation.
The Men’s Central Prison, the scene of the attack, has a history of violence by both inmates and staff.
In 2023, The Times obtained some surveillance video from within the facility, showing a long pattern of unidentified violence. One video from 2019 showed a group of men punching and stabbing fellow inmates for nearly 14 minutes before staff showed up to intervene.
Other videos, filmed over the years, showed prisoners attacking guards, attacking prisoners and using prisoners to include controversial “head strikes” and punches to the head.
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