LOS ANGELES : Brawl in Cell at Courts Building Injures 3 Inmates

A brief brawl in a holding cell at the Downtown Criminal Courts Building on Monday resulted in minor injuries to three inmates, authorities said.

The incident occurred about 7 a.m., lasted about four minutes and involved 20 of 47 inmates who were in the cell next to a 10th-floor courtroom, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Irma Becerra.

Becerra said the fight fell along racial lines with Latino and black inmates battling each other, though the cause was not known. Deputies broke up the brawl without the use of force, she said.

Numerous recent fights in jail facilities around the county have also been described as being racially motivated. The three inmates injured Monday were sent for treatment for cuts and abrasions at the jail ward at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Becerra said.