By Keri Blakinger
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Four sheriff’s deputies at Men’s Central Jail were attacked Sunday by a group of inmates armed with a shank, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials and two sources inside the agency.
There is no video of the incident because several hundred cameras in the facility were shut off for maintenance earlier that morning, according to an internal memo shared with The Times .
Late Monday, the Sheriff’s Department confirmed in a statement that the cameras were fully operational again.
“The assault on our custody deputies is absolutely unacceptable, and we will take swift action to ensure those responsible are held fully accountable,” the statement said. “Our employees work hard under challenging conditions to maintain a safe environment for everyone in our care and custody.”
The violence at the downtown Los Angeles jail broke out just after noon, when a deputy was escorting about a dozen men from the 2500 housing area to another part of the jail, the memo said.
The deputy was attacked when he tried to pull aside one of the inmates, according to the memo, which said multiple assailants joined in to punch the jailer and stomp his head until he fell unconscious. The memo described four attackers, but the department’s statement said three inmates were involved.
The deputy was stabbed in the head and sustained a 1-inch puncture wound that required staples, according to the memo and the two sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Three other deputies rushed to his aid and ultimately stopped the attack, though they all were injured in the process.
Afterward, all four deputies were taken to a hospital, where they were treated and released, the department said. The inmates were also medically evaluated and remain in custody at Men’s Central Jail .
Officials later recovered a 5-inch shank that was allegedly hidden in an inmate’s boxer shorts, the memo said.
Even though no one was killed, the Homicide Bureau is investigating the case. Under department policy, the bureau consults and determines investigative jurisdiction on any cases in which an on-duty deputy is injured badly enough to require hospital care.
Based on the severity of the deputy’s injuries, in this instance the bureau decided to retain the case and handle the investigation.
Once the department completes its investigation, the case will be presented to prosecutors for filing consideration, sheriff’s officials said.
In a statement to The Times on Monday, the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs — the union representing rank-and-file deputies — condemned the assault and raised other safety concerns.
“This organized attack on deputy sheriffs by armed inmates inside the jail is an outrage and deserves immediate action by the department,” said Thomas Ferguson, union vice president. " Los Angeles County is responsible for the world’s largest jail system, and the community needs to know the facilities have been neglected to the point where inmates can now ‘pop’ some of the doors open at will.”
Men’s Central Jail, the scene of the attack, has a history of violence by both inmates and staff.
In 2023, The Times obtained several surveillance videos from inside the facility showing a long pattern of unchecked violence. One video dated 2019 showed a group of men punching and stabbing a fellow inmate for nearly 14 minutes before any staff showed up to intervene.
Other videos taken over the course of several years showed inmates attacking their jailers, or jailers using force on inmates, including controversial “head strikes” or punches to the head.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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