Cook County Jail Guards Hurt When Inmates Use Microwave To Set Uniforms On Fire

CHICAGO, IL — Four Cook County Jail officers were hurt Saturday night when inmates in the facility's super-maximum security division tried to destroy their prison uniforms by using a microwave to set them on fire, according to the Cook County Sheriff''s Office. The injuries to the officers were non-life-threatening, but all four were taken to area hospitals, a release by the sheriff's office stated.

Two officers were being evaluated after suffering smoke exposure, and two officers were being treated for injuries sustained while gaining control of the situation at the jail. The sheriff's office did not indicate if any of the inmates were injured in the incident.

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According to the sheriff's office, the incident involved inmates in a tier of Division 9, the jail's super-max area, that houses detainees who engage in sexual misconduct. Those inmates devised a plan to destroy their specially designed jumpsuits by setting them on fire.

A microwave was used to ignite a wick that would then light the garb on fire, the sheriff's office said. Smoke from the burning uniforms, however, filled the living unit in that tier of the super-max division.

The sheriff's office did not say if the inmates will face criminal charges for the incident.

Photo via Shutterstock

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