Inmates riot Sunday at the St. Louis Justice Center

ST. LOUIS – Inmates at the St. Louis Justice Center rioted for the third time in less than four months Sunday night. The riot broke out around 8:45 p.m. on the third floor.

Police said at least 60 inmates escaped from their cells and busted windows, set fire, and threw things to the ground from third-floor windows.

The situation lasted until about 10:15 p.m. Sunday when police were able to get control of the situation. Another fire started shortly after on the second floor but was put out by fire crews.

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Dale Glass, Corrections Commissioner, said he can’t specifically say how the inmates got out of their cells but is looking into the possibility the locks were compromised similarly to an earlier riot. He also explained the inmates cut the cameras so he may never fully know what happened last night.

This is the third time inmates have created a similar scene at the St. Louis Justice Center. The last one happened on February 6. Inmates were able to block the locks from working properly. City officials said they transferred about 120 inmates to more secure facilities after that situation.

A St. Louis Corrections Task Force was established following that incident. Alleged inhumane treatment is one of the many findings.

Previously, the inmates made complaints about their living conditions inside of the jail. Glass said there is no merit to those complaints.

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“There is nothing we did to make them act this way,” said Glass during a Monday morning briefing

Glass said the two things he is hearing from detainees is they want more recreation. He said prior to COVID the detainees were not in their cells often and now they are spending a lot of time there.

He also said they want their court cases resolved. Court proceedings have been delayed for some time now due to the pandemic. Mayor Lyda Krewson said she spoke with one of the judges this morning and said they are working to clear up their dockets as quickly as possible.

President of the Board of Public Service, Rich Bradley, gave an update on the repairs that began after the February riot.