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Detention officer attacked at county jail

An altercation at the Curry County Adult Detention facility shortly after midnight Wednesday morning prompted an emergency call for backup to the Curry County Sheriff’s Office and Clovis police.

According to Jail Administrator Don Burdine, the incident began when one of three inmates in a cell attacked a detention officer during a search. The inmate rushed out on the second floor mezzanine and began a fight that came down the stairway and ended up on the pod floor, he said.

The inmate was knocked to the floor during the incident, received a cut on his head, and was treated for minor injuries at Plains Regional Medical Center. Several detention officers received minor cuts and bruises. Burdine said the only injury on his staff was a possible broken toe.

Burdine said the public was never endangered during the fight.

“They could not have escaped the area,” Burdine said. “Each different area is secured individually. Even by overtaking an officer they don’t gain any way out.”

Capt. Dan Blair of the Clovis Police Department said his agency responded with a canine unit, a shift sergeant, and at least two other officers. The inmate refused to surrender and was finally knocked out with a taser device.

“It will shoot probes that have an electrical current which affects muscle mass and it stops the action,” Blair said. “We took the force necessary to stop the person’s action, which is what we are trained to do.”

Burdine said that depending on details, the inmate will face charges of assault on a police officer and probably battery on a police officer.

“It is a little unusual for an inmate to target an officer and assault him, but it is not unheard of,” Burdine said. “This is the first one we’ve seen since I came back in October.”

 
 
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