SPOKANE COUNTY-- Dozens of inmates are back in the cells at the Spokane County Jail after they flooded parts of the building with toliet water. This happened over the weekend and the jail had to bring in professional cleaners to unclogged pipes and sterilized the cells among other things.
Sargent R.D. Smith says most of the water came out the bottom of the cells. He showed KREM 2 News where the damage was done. This past weekend, several dozen inmates decided to flush their toilets in two cell blocks. It shouldn’t have been much of a problem, but it’s what they sent down the drain.
Sgt. Smith says they sent down jumpsuits, towels, torn up blankets, and even a pair of underwear. The inmates clogged the pipes, causing water to spill out of the cells and into the hallways,sending the water down to the floor below. Luckily, a lot of the water wasn’t sewage, it was the water that was in the toilet bowl. But it did soak the carpets in detective and administration offices, leaving a musty order.
Sgt. Smith says the water damaged computers and laptops sitting on the floor and cameras, along with several $500 bullet proof vests. Not counting these items, the jail estimates the cost to taxpayers to unclog the pipes and cleanup to be around $2,500.
Sgt. Smith says he is not amazed that the inmates would do this. He says he’s worked for the jail for almost 25 years and when the inmates get bored, sometimes it is just their way of messing with them.
Pending the outcome of the investigation, the jail could seek felony charges against the inmates involved.
