Sheriff releases videos of inmates fighting with guards

Two months after his office released videos of correctional officers using excessive force, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart on Thursday made public four videos showing inmate attacks on jail staff.

“There is simply no more difficult job than that of a correctional deputy, and I have extraordinary admiration for my staff, who put their necks on the line every day in order to maintain the safety of everyone in the jail,” Dart said in a statement that accompanied the release. “Unfortunately, some of our detainees — particularly in our maximum security divisions — consistently subject correctional staff to violent assaults, verbal threats, indecent exposure, spit and even urine and feces. I will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect our staff by holding these detainees accountable for the criminal acts they commit in jail.”

The four videos show incidents that all occurred in maximum security divisions of the jail within the last two months. In one incident from May, an inmate approaches a deputy in a communal area of the jail. The inmate throws a punch. The two exchange more punches, and the fight then spills out into a corridor, where more deputies arrive and the inmate is subdued and handcuffed.

Several of the attacks landed deputies in the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.

Since January 2015, investigations have led to criminal charges against 163 inmates for aggravated battery to a peace officer, according to the sheriff’s office.

All the videos can be viewed here.

Video 5 from Cook County Sheriff on Vimeo.