Guards: Jail fight injuries avoidable

The union for sergeants and lieutenants at the Cook County jail complained Thursday that an inmate fight Tuesday resulting in injuries to correctional officers might have been avoided if staffing had been adequate.

According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees, guards suffered a broken cheekbone, a broken hand, a broken arm and a concussion. It was unclear if those injuries were all to one guard or spread among several guards.

Anders Lindall, a spokesman for the group, said the brawl took place in a yard where about 200 maximum-security inmates were being supervised by about 13 guards. That's about half the amount of guards there should have been, the union said in a news release.

A spokeswoman for Sheriff Tom Dart, who runs the jail, said the sheriff believes the jail was staffed adequately that day. Penny Mateck also pointed out that an aggressive new weapons intervention program at the jail most likely played a role in no weapons being used by inmates in Tuesday's fight.