CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Authorities say four inmates face charges of malicious destruction of property after they broke the sprinkler system and flooded a county jail in Cambridge.
Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola said Thursday the inmates may also face assault charges for scuffling with corrections officers.
The Boston Globe reports DiPaola put the damage at about $400,000 and said “the calculator is still running.”
About half the jail’s 440 inmates were evacuated to other facilities after the Sunday incident, which broke out after 15 inmates were sent to hospitals with flu-like symptoms.
The sheriff said about 232 inmates are now at the jail, still more than its official capacity of 200. He said he supports legislation to reduce overcrowding, including allowing some awaiting trial to be confined at home with electronic monitoring.
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