It appears that the “fix” is finally in at the new city jail.
Workers will install a new tamper resistant sprinkler head in a cell in the men’s block of the jail today and, if all goes well, within a few weeks new sprinkler heads will be placed in all the jail’s cells.
“We’re putting it in for a two-week test,” Police Superintendent John Chella said. “And then we will probably start the process of replacing all the sprinkler heads.”
The jail in the new city municipal complex on Main Street has been plagued by inmate vandalism that has led to repeated flooding of cells.
“I’m confident, this (new sprinkler head) looks pretty good,” Chella said. “It fits flush to the ceiling so there’s nothing for the inmate to grab.”
Over the holiday weekend, another inmate rampage resulted in flooding and other damage in the jail’s men’s cell block. It was the fourth time in less than a month that out-of-control inmates have managed to damage sprinklers in their cells, resulting in flooding in the cell block.
Henri Alfiere, 26, 2415 LaSalle Ave. upper, had been brought into the jail in the early morning hours of July on charges stemming from two car break-ins. After being placed in a cell, Alfiere damaged the sprinkler head, causing water to spray from the ceiling and flood the cell.
Alfiere, and three other inmates before him, now face felony criminal mischief charges for the damage they caused.
“Not only are we charging them with felonies,” Chella said, “but we are asking the DA to seek restitution to pay for the damages.”
The repeated flooding does not appear to have done permanent damage to the cell block. Chella said officers have also become skilled at quickly responding to the flooding.
Chella said no determination has been made yet on whether the city or the developers of the complex will pay for the new sprinkler heads.
Contact reporter Rick Pfeiffer at 282-2311, ext. 2252.
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