Sheriff Reviewing Surveillance Video After Aaron Hernandez Jail Fight
DARTMOUTH (CBS/AP) — Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez was involved in a scuffle with another jail inmate, but neither man required medical attention, a Massachusetts sheriff said Wednesday.
The brief fight took place around noon Tuesday in a common area of the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth, where only one inmate is supposed to be out of his cell at a time, Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports
Sheriff Reviewing Surveillance Video After Aaron Hernandez Jail Fight
It's unclear which inmate was the aggressor. Hodgson said jail staff are interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance video to figure out exactly what happened and determine whether disciplinary measures or even criminal charges are warranted.
"It was very brief. The officers were right there and it was stopped within seconds, maybe a minute," Hodgson said.
Hernandez is kept in the jail's special management unit partly because his notoriety makes him a prized target for other inmates looking to make a name for himself.
Some reports indicated Hernandez went after the inmate who had been verbally busting him for some time.
Hodgson did not release the other inmate's name and said he did not know of any previous tension between the two men.
"We don't know what, if any, relationship there was or has been at any point, either here or anywhere else," Hodgson said.
The jail is also reviewing procedures to figure out how the two inmates were allowed out of their cells at the same time.
"Suffice to say I'm not happy that there may have been a breakdown in our system, in our protocols, and when we have system failures the first thing we look at, and I look at, is No. 1, how did this happen, and No. 2, how do we make sure this doesn't happen again," the sheriff said.
Both Hernandez and the other inmate have been moved to other units until the investigation is completed. Hodgson said the investigation should take about 48 hours.
Hernandez, a former New England Patriots tight end, is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder in the death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd. The Boston man was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.
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