Jail Detainee Attacks Guard With Soap Bars in Sock, Steals Keys and Releases Others

A detainee at Cook County Jail attacked three jail guards Tuesday — seriously injuring one — while stealing a guard’s keys to let out other detainees in the maximum security block.

The Cook County sheriff’s office said it is seeking charges against two detainees — one of whom is being held on attempted murder of a police officer — in the early morning attack at the Southwest Side jail complex.

The sheriff’s office released surveillance video of the incident Tuesday night.

About 3:40 a.m., a detainee returning from getting a cup of water in the Division IX block grabbed a correctional officer by the neck from behind and dragged him into his open cell, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The officer fought his way out of the cell, but the detainee mounted the officer on the catwalk and choked him unconscious, the sheriff’s office said. The detainee also allegedly used bars of soap in a sock wrapped around his wrist to attack the officer.

The detainee grabbed the unconscious officer’s keys and handed them to another detainee locked in a cell, the sheriff’s office said. That detainee unlocked his door and began unlocking another.

The detainee who started the attack then punched an officer who confronted him, striking the officer in the face and knocking him unconscious, the sheriff’s office said. The detainee attacked a third officer who tried aiding the first unconscious officer, knocking him to the ground.

A sergeant with a stun gun arrived and ordered the three detainees back into their cells, the sheriff’s office said. The correctional officer punched in the face remains hospitalized, while the other two were treated and released.