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St. Louis prisoners smash windows, light fires in third jail melee

By
Eileen AJ Connelly
Published Feb. 6, 2021
Updated Feb. 6, 2021, 4:07 p.m. ET

Inmates at a downtown St. Louis jail jumped a guard and led an hours-long window-smashing, fire-starting melee Saturday that was finally put down with tear gas.

It took hours for authorities to regain control of the City Justice Center, where chaos erupted on the fourth floor after a scuffle between a prisoner and a guard around 3 a.m. grew as other inmates jumped in, according to reports. It was the third disturbance at the jail in recent weeks.

The corrections officer, who was badly bruised, was treated and released at a local hospital. No other officers or inmates were injured.

About four hours later, a group of inmates dressed in yellow shirts, mostly wearing masks, could be seen at shattered, smoke-scarred windows. They broke more windows and tossed a stationary bike, chairs, mattresses and other things down to the sidewalk.

Inmates yell from broken windows at the St. Louis Justice Center, known as the city jail, on Feb. 6, 2021 in St. Louis.
Inmates yell from broken windows at the St. Louis Justice Center, known as the city jail, on Feb. 6, 2021 in St. Louis. St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP

Flames could be seen just inside the windows and items appeared to have been set on fire before being thrown to the sidewalk below. They held up messages that appeared to be written on trays, mostly saying “Free” with various names on them.

Law enforcement officers used tear gas to regain control. By 10 a.m. all of the inmates were back in custody.

About 115 detainees trashed the jail, clogging toilets and flooding floors, a mayoral spokesman told the St. Louis Post-Disptach. About 65 were transferred to a different institution after the incident.

Inmates yell from broken windows at the St. Louis Justice Center, known as the city jail, on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 in St. Louis, Mo. Firefighters are at the jail where inmates appear to have knocked out windows and set some small fires. A spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson said there was Òan ongoing and very dangerous disturbanceÓ going on at the St. Louis City Justice Center on Saturday morning. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
Inmates yell from broken windows at the St. Louis Justice Center on Feb. 6, 2021 in St. Louis. St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP

The damage to the fourth floor unit was “fairly extensive,” spokesman Jacob Long said. Some of the inmates involved could face additional charges, he said.

There were 633 people in custody at the jail as of Friday, but the disturbance was confined to the fourth floor, the paper said.

Since December, a locking problem has allowed inmates to free themselves from their cells by tampering with the locks, Jimmie Edwards, the city’s director of public safety, told reporters. The problem contributed to the mayhem Saturday, he said.

It was at least the third incident at the jail, the Post-Dispatch said. Another occurred the last week of December and a second just days later. In those cases inmates had expressed concern about unsafe conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic.