Cook Co. Detainees Try To Set Uniforms On Fire, 4 Officers Hurt
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Four Cook County Jail correctional officers were taken to hospitals Saturday evening after a group of detainees tried to light their uniforms on fire.
The detainees were in Division 9, the jail's super maximum security division, in a tier designated for "problematic detainees who engage in sexual misconduct," according to a statement from the Cook County sheriff's office.
The detainees in that division are given specially designed jumpsuits, which they tried to destroy by using a microwave to ignite a wick and set the uniforms on fire, the sheriff's office said. Smoke then billowed in the living unit.
Two officers were taken to a hospital for smoke exposure, and two officers were taken to a hospital for injuries they suffered while securing the tier, according to the sheriff's office. None of the injuries were thought to be life-threatening.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2017. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
