By Martín Bilbao
The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)
OLYMPIA, Wash. — A person held in the Thurston County jail assaulted a corrections deputy Saturday and multiple other people attempted to incite a riot, Sheriff Derek Sanders said.
The incident occurred in the evening in the E dorm of the county jail, Sanders shared in a short Facebook post on Tuesday.
Sanders accused an unnamed person of punching the deputy in an “unprovoked attack.” He said the assault happened after the deputy instructed the person, who he said is living with mental illness, to return to their bunk.
“While additional deputies responded to deal with that inmate, approximately 20 additional inmates began inciting riotous behavior in the dorm,” Sanders said.
Deputies detained the person accused of assault as well as another unnamed person held in the dorm. Both of them were relocated to holding cells, Sanders said.
“Ideally, all of the inmates who engaged in the inciting behavior would have been placed on lock down in cells, however there is currently no space within the jail,” Sanders said.
Sanders’ post did not describe how the “riotous behavior” was incited or why the second person was singled out to be detained. The Olympian has asked the Sheriff’s Office to elaborate on what occurred.
The deputy who was punched was treated for a laceration on his face, Sanders said.
Additional charges will be referred to the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Sanders said. However, he did not list any specific charges in his post.
The Olympian has asked the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office if they have received those referrals and what charges they may be pursuing.
The Thurston County jail is at 3491 Ferguson St. SW in Tumwater. The jail roster indicated there were 321 people being held in the jail Wednesday morning.
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