3 Detention Deputies Injured After Inmates Attack
PUEBLO, Colo. (CBS4) - Three Pueblo County sheriff's detention deputies were injured after being attacked by inmates.
According to a release from the sheriff's department, on Friday around 3:30 a m inmate Mario Vigil asked to speak with a deputy in private. When they were alone authorities say the Vigil, 44, tried to strangle the deputy, stole his Taser, and tried to escape using an elevator.
Another deputy stopped Vigil despite being Tased with the stolen weapon.
The sheriff says later that morning inmates Anthony Medina, 33, and Jerry Ponce, 36, refused to give up contraband and threatened deputies. When guards entered their cell there was reportedly a scuffle and one of the inmates was Tased.
The guards and inmates suffered minor injuries.
"I am proud of the bravery and professional response my deputies displayed while confronting this potential threat to themselves and to public safety," Detention Bureau Chief Jeffrey Teschner said in a statement . "Situations involving inmate resistance and defiance to facility rules have become more common as the result of sustained overcrowding at the jail."
The inmates are now behind bars and will face charges.
It's not known if the two incidents are related.
"These attacks are just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come if we don't figure out a way to get some relief in the jail with regard to overcrowding. At some point the bough will break and we're very close to reaching that point," Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk M. Taylor said. "But for the dogged determination of this entire shift, this incident could have ended much worse."
