Officers injured, Muscogee County Jail dorm cleared by response team after fight
A sheriff’s tactical squad was deployed to clear out a dorm at the Muscogee County Jail after three corrections officers were injured Wednesday breaking up a fight between inmates, the sheriff said.
The officers had only minor injuries, said Sheriff Donna Tompkins, whose office is responsible for operating the jail on 10th Street. One was treated and released at the hospital.
The incident started Wednesday evening when two inmates started fighting and officers went in to stop the fight, and others in the dormitory swarmed them, Tompkins said. The officers held their ground before retreating to avoid risking additional injury, as they were outnumbered, she said.
The sheriff said some of the inmates were members of the Zohannon street gang, but not all. Some were associated with other groups, she said. She was notified of the altercation around 7:30 p.m., she said.
The sheriff’s office decided to hold off on further action until 6 a.m. Thursday, when it sent its special response team in to remove all the inmates from the dorm, separate them and transfer them to areas where they could not interact, she said.
Those involved in assaulting the officers will face charges, Tompkins said.
Local authorities previously have identified the Zohannon gang as a subset of the Gangster Disciples. Investigators in 2017 said the Gangster Disciples constituted the city’s largest street gang.