Bartholomew County Jail inmates caused havoc over the holiday weekend that will take thousands of dollars to repair.

Sheriff Matt Myers says that the inmates injured several members of the jail staff and caused the worst flood in the jail since the new section was built along with breaking out mesh and glass door inserts to use as weapons. He estimated about $8,000 dollars would be needed just to repair the damage to the cell doors.

The sheriff says that the jail is overcrowded, with a reduced staff, and there are not enough people available to keep an eye on all the inmates. Without the ability to actually patrol inside the cell blocks the inmates have the time and coordination to come up with destructive mischief.

The flooding was caused when the inmates used towels to block the bottom of their cell doors, then intentionally allowed the shower and toilets to overflow. When the water reached several feet high in the cells, they released the dams at once and let loose the flood.

Three jail staff suffered minor injuries when the inmates threw pieces of the shattered door mesh at officers and used pieces of the metal as weapons, the sheriff said. He estimated that it took six minutes for the involved inmates to dismantle the door panels and turn them into weapons.

Myers said that video evidence and reports on the incidents are being forwarded to the county prosecutor’s office for possible charges. He also said there is little that can be done to address the problem from a disciplinary standpoint. There is not enough room in the jail to further segregate the inmates leading the chaos, he said.

Ultimately, the sheriff would like  to reopen portions of the old jail to be used for further inmate detention, as well as drug treatment facilities. The current jail arrangement has 232 beds, but there were nearly 250 inmates yesterday afternoon, the sheriff said. The weekend’s damage further reduced the number of available cells, Myers said.

He briefed the County Council on the situation during their Tuesday night work session. The council urged the sheriff to come back with a plan on the costs and staffing needs to reopen the old portion of the jail.