Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Sandra Yi reporting A medium security unit at the Davis County Jail is on lockdown. It went into effect after a large fight broke out among inmates Thursday.
Four people were injured.
Authorities say yesterday's fight was the worst among inmates in the jail's 12 year history.
Surveillance video shows the unit moments before the fight broke out. The unit was under extra watch because deputies felt some tension among the inmates.
At about 3:10 pm, some of the inmates got up and started swinging at each other.
In the end, there were between 35 to 45 inmates involved in the brawl. Four of them had minor injuries, including one who required seven stiches.
Authorities say the fight lasted only three minutes, but it could have been a lot more serious.
Capt. Bob Yeaman/ Davis County Sheriff's Office: "I was really surprised that there were no weapons. It was strictly fists. Usually we find sharpened toothbrushes, pieces of metal that they somehow acquire, and those types of things. Mop buckets, mops, brooms and those things. None of those was used this time."
The entire jail was on lockdown for a couple of hours after the fight.
The unit where the fight happened is still on lockdown and will be for several days, until the investigation is complete.
Davis County authorities still don't know why the fight broke out but they believe it was racially motivated. All the inmates involved were white or Hispanic.
The unit houses a mix of inmates because the jail is overcrowded. Authorities say they move inmates around but eventually, the ones that fight can end up together again.
Authorities are looking to add on to the jail in the future to help ease the overcrowding and prevent something like this from happening again.
