Several injured in jail attacks

Officials: Violence was gang-related

By MICHAEL NEWSOM
mmnewsom@sunherald.com

GULFPORT --

One inmate had his jaw broken and a dozen others found themselves on lockdown following a series of what appears to be gang-related attacks at the Harrison County jail late Thursday night.

But despite talk circulating Friday among the legal community, Warden Don Cabana said officials don't believe the attacks were racially motivated. All of the dozen or so men that officers believe were the aggressors are black. The roughly one dozen victims of attacks are white. The warden said he believes one explanation could be that gang members simply attacked non-gang members for intimidation.

The attacks continued over several hours on Thursday night before prisoners were to be in their cells for bed. Cabana said it appears that gangs pounced on smaller groups of inmates in areas that jailers couldn't see.

"I think there was a number of inmates that got jumped on by more than one or two inmates at a time," Cabana said. "The business of inmates jumping on others four or five to one is the hallmark of gang inmate activity."

Friday morning jailers found several inmates who had black eyes and one had a broken jaw. At least one inmate, and possibly another, was taken to the hospital. Cabana said only about half of the dozen inmates believed to be the victims would actually admit they were beaten up.

Harrison County jailers who specialize in gang attacks began investigating the case early Friday and they identified about a dozen inmates they believed participated in the attacks. These people were placed in special confinement areas.

An internal review of the situation Thursday night is being conducted and so far, investigators are sifting through several theories about what caused the attacks, Cabana said.

Cabana said the prison population is adept at distracting jailers. Inmates know how many corrections officers are working at a given time, as well as where they are most times. This, he said gives inmates a distinct advantage. The jail has many officers who have been on the job less than six months, and inmates want to test them. In July, an inmate beat one female jailer, but other prisoners intervened and helped her fend off her attacker. She had some bumps and bruises after the attack.

The jail also has had thefts among the inmates lately, and the attacks could have been caused in retaliation for stealing, Cabana said.

Jailers also cut visitation short Thursday evening, after some juveniles caused problems and officers had to get the situation under control, he said. The reduced visitation could have messed up plans inmates had to smuggle in contraband through friends and relatives. This, Cabana said, could have led to much frustration for some of the gang members in the jail and they might have taken it out on others.

The warden expects the violence at the jail to continue and said the situation isn't out of the ordinary. He said jailers would have problems keeping the situation under control with the substandard locks and staffing problems at the jail.