US jail riot linked to pandemic

ST. LOUIS, Missouri－Inmates at the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis took over a section of the jail and injured a corrections officer on Saturday, local media reported.

The incident began about 2:30 am on the fourth floor of the jail. The prisoners yelled, broke windows, threw chairs and other items out of broken windows and started a small fire inside the jail.

Dozens of law enforcement officers worked for hours before bringing the riot under control shortly before 10 am, a spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson, Jacob Long, said.

About 115 inmates were involved, Long said, who described the group as "extremely violent and noncompliant".

One corrections officer was attacked and treated at a hospital for his injuries before being discharged, Long said. No detainees were hurt, he said.

The disturbance probably occurred over concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions that have limited visits and stalled court proceedings, officials said.

There were 633 inmates in the jail on Friday, local media reported.

Damage 'fairly extensive'

Video posted on social media by passersby showed inmates standing near three windows on the fourth floor that had been smashed out. Some carried signs or tossed items, some ablaze, to the sidewalk below. Firefighters used a hose to put out the fires.

Long did not have a cost estimate for the damage but described it as "fairly extensive".

"There are some burn marks on the front of the building. They destroyed the inside of their floor and threw all sorts of stuff outside.… They flooded the floors, clogged the toilets, clogged the drains, so there is water damage."

One issue that played a role in the mayhem was a locking problem that allows inmates to free themselves from their cells by tampering with the locks, said Jimmie Edwards, the city's director of public safety.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that officials had been dealing with the problem since December.

Sixty-five inmates were transferred from the downtown jail and into the St. Louis Medium Security Institution, also known as the workhouse, Long said. He also said that law enforcement had talked to the prosecutor's office, and it was possible some of those involved could face additional charges.

Agencies - Xinhua