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Orange County sheriff’s department ends jail lockdown
Officials determine that racial tensions have eased after two fights among black and Latino inmates had led to lockdowns in Santa Ana.
By Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
11:26 AM PDT, May 6, 2008
Orange County sheriff's officials today lifted the latest lockdown at Men's Central Jail, concluding that racial tensions had eased enough to allow inmates to leave their cells for exercise, education and dining room visits.
Sheriff's Capt. Roland Chacon said that he agreed to ease the restrictions at the Santa Ana jail this morning and that inmates ate breakfast in a dining hall without incident.
Chacon had authorized the lockdown April 29 after a fight in the dining hall involving several black and Latino inmates. That fight came four days after the department lifted a previous lockdown that was the result of a fight that injured a dozen inmates in two dormitories. That fight also involved black and Latino inmates.
During both lockdowns, inmates were confined to their cells, denied family visits and outdoor exercise and stripped of such privileges as watching television.
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