3 deputies injured after inmate assaults one at the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana

Three deputies were hospitalized after an inmate assaulted a staff member, leading to a clash involving several inmates at the Central Men’s Jail in Orange County on Sunday evening, authorities said.

Between 5 and 6 p.m., when inmates were eating, one of them assaulted a deputy in the chow hall, sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Braun said Monday, Sept. 30.

“At this point, it looks like an unprovoked attack,” Braun said. “When the assault started, more deputies responded.”

More inmates got involved in the melee, although deputies were able to get the outbreak under control in minutes, Braun said.

Authorities would not go into detail about the extent of the deputies’ injuries, saying only they were minor and the three were treated and released.

Apparently the incident began with a couple of tables of inmates being disruptive and then going after a deputy, said Tom Dominguez, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs.

Dominguez said he met Sunday with the injured deputies, who were in good spirits.

“(The deputies) looked like they’d been in a really good fight,” he said. “I’m very proud about how they acted…they did everything in their power to survive.”

The incident prompted a lockdown into the night as the Custody Intelligence Unit investigated. Braun said jail surveillance footage was captured of the incident which will be part of the investigation.

He estimated there were about 120 inmates in the food hall at the time and about a half-dozen deputies.

The department would not say how many inmates were involved in the incident citing the ongoing investigation though Dominguez said several jumped into the attack.

The number of attacks on staff members have increased in recent years, sheriff’s officials say.

From 2007 to 2011, an average of 26.8 inmate-on-staff assaults occurred per year. From 2012 to 2017, it went up to 64.5.

“Although it’s unfortunate, it’s not unexpected…it is a difficult and dangerous job,” Dominguez said.