PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) - An inmate at a Virginia jail pepper sprayed two guards after inmates in a lockdown unit flooded their cells and the man was removed from his cell to shower, the jail superintendent said Wednesday.
Col. Christopher Walz, interim superintendent at Hampton Roads Regional Jail, said an officer and a jail supervisor fell down in the incident, with one hurting a knee and the other suffering a cut on their cheek, The Virginian-Pilot reported. Walz said the injuries were minor.
According to the newspaper, the incident occurred after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in a housing unit where inmates who have received infractions for not following the jail’s rules are kept. Inmates on the first level flooded their cells by clogging toilets, and one man broke a sprinkler head, Walz said.
The man who broke the sprinkler head was taken out of his cell so he could shower. Walz said the man turned around, grabbed pepper spray from the jail supervisor and used it on the officers. After the second officer fell, the man lay down and waited for officers to get there, officials said.
No charges have been filed as of Wednesday afternoon, and Walz said an investigation is continuing.
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