By Adam Ferrise
Advance Ohio Media, Cleveland
CLEVELAND — Some of the 12 inmates who caused an estimated $200,000 damage to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center on Monday during a riot shattered security glass and threatened to stab deputies with the shards, according to recordings of radio traffic between the deputies.
The recordings also show that only two deputies were inside that area of the jail as the rioting inmates for at least an hour, and that the inmates threw cleaning products on the floor in order to make it slippery for a responding SWAT team to go inside the housing pod.
A Cuyahoga County Sheriff SWAT team eventually calmed the situation after about three hours, including negotiating with the inmates, a sheriff’s incident report said.
An inmate and a deputy suffered minor cuts during the incident and no one else was hurt, officials said. Officials have not said at what point they were injured.
No formal charges have been filed against the 12, who all remain housed but separated at the detention center. They are all between 14 and 16 years old.
The recordings say the inmates used chairs to smash security glass, damaged cell doors, sprinklers, parts of the ceiling, showers, toilets, light fixtures, a television and windows, officials said.
Two of the inmates were in the jail on charges that accused them of firing gunshots at a rival group on Nov. 24. Stray bullets struck and killed 12-year-old Abdel Bashiti, who was helping his father out at his nearby beauty supply store on East 116th Street and Buckeye Road.
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Eight face at least one charge of armed robbery, including one who was previously convicted of rape. Several are accused of committing multiple armed robberies, including one 14-year-old charged in connection with six armed robberies since December 2016.
Another inmate is accused of being part of a five-person crew that conspired to steal cars from people who left their cars unlocked and with keys in the ignition. The group would then jump in the cars and speed off. They are accused of committing one of those thefts on Nov. 18 at a gas station in Cleveland.
The riot sparked new calls for reform of the Juvenile Detention Center, including County Councilman Michael Gallagher and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, both of whom suggested allowing the sheriff to take over operating the juvenile jail. Juvenile court judges operate and manage the juvenile jail, unlike the adult jail, which is run by the sheriff.
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