MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Four inmates were injured after a fire was set inside 201 Poplar on Friday night, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO).
In a statement, Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner said “several disturbances” were reported around 10 pm Friday, May 3, 2024, at the county jail on Poplar Avenue in Downtown Memphis.
Buckner said that deputies responded to the first two disturbances inside a housing unit to find objects set on fire and thrown by inmates. Jailers quickly put out the fire and “de-escalated” the situation, he said.
Jailers later found that at least one of the cell doors were broken but the main door was not understood, said Buckner, who broke down the disturbances in a video posted on the department’s X account, formerly known as Twitter.
SCSO said that the housing unit’s main door was tied closed from the inside with bed sheets but deputies and jailers managed to get inside and used a chemical agent on the inmates to allow “incident to be concluded peacefully.”
Injuries to all four inmates were not considered life-threatening, SCSO said.
The sheriff’s office said they all returned to 201 Poplar and were relocated to other parts of the jail.
No one within SCSO were hurt, the department said.
In his statement, Buckner said the disturbances were another example of “the critical need for a new jail and increased corrections personnel.”
He added: “We want to be clear, even with our staffing shortages and need for a new jail, we will not tolerate this of behavior. This incident is under criminal investigation and charges are forthcoming.”
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