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Video: 20 Calif. inmates brawl, spur lockdown

One inmate brushed up against another and ‘the fight was on’

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By C1 Staff

SAN JOSE — A brawl involving over 20 inmates spurred a lockdown in the Santa Clara County Jail Thursday, NBC Bay Area reported.

The altercation began with two inmates then others jumped in, Sheriff Laurie Smith told the news site.

“One inmate brushed up against another and then the fight was on,” Smith said.

The entirety of the brawl lasted two minutes. Surveillance cameras installed the night before caught moments of the fight.

One deputy was in the unit, which houses the most violent offenders, while thirty inmates were present. When fighting broke out, a total of five deputies responded. They used pepper spray to stop the fight.

Retired judge and chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission LaDoris Cordell was investigating the incident. She didn’t understand why this particular group of inmates were housed together, she told the news site.

“If in fact, correctional officers knew that on that pod or in that unit there were groups who didn’t get along, be they along racial lines or whatever,” she said. “I was told repeatedly they’d never let them out because it could lead to a fight and someone could get hurt.”

The incident is under investigation.

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