Tear gas fired into Long Bay Prison fight, some inmates protesting Black Lives Matters
Prison officers have used tear gas on inmates fighting in the yard of Sydney's Long Bay Hospital in Matraville, with one prisoner being taken to hospital after being bitten by a dog.
Helicopter vision of the incident at the prison shows six inmates spelling B L M, believed to be a reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, on the ground.
Aboriginal man David Dungay died inside the prison hospital complex in 2015 when guards stormed his cell because he refused to stop eating a packet of biscuits. Dungay was dragged to another cell by guards, held face down and injected with a sedative by a Justice Health nurse. In harrowing footage released to the public, Dungay said 12 times that he couldn’t breathe, before losing consciousness and dying.
The fight on Monday broke out in the yards attached to the prison hospital, where 85 inmates are treated for medical conditions.
Prisoners in one hospital yard began to fight around lunchtime, when prison officers tried to stop the fight.
The Herald has been told that the fight related to drugs, which are reportedly in short supply inside prisons following the COVID-19 lockdown and banning of visitors.
As officers broke up the fight in the original yard, a fracas broke out in an adjacent yard and officers then moved to subdue those inmates, a Corrective Services spokesperson said.
A fight between two inmates at Long Bay Jail was broken up by guards using tear gas.Credit:Nine News
"Correctional officers from Long Bay Hospital and our Security Operations Group have responded to an incident at the prison," said a statement from Corrective Services on Monday afternoon.
"The incident started about midday when a number of inmates in one yard began fighting. Other inmates refused to obey officers’ directions and allow staff to go into that yard and stop the fight.
"Gas was deployed to safely secure those inmates. Inmates in another two yards then began refusing to obey staff directions. Gas was deployed with officers now safely securing those inmates."
One prisoner has been taken to hospital for treatment for a dog bite, a Corrective Services spokeswoman said.
Prison officers were also being examined after the gas was deployed.
It is unclear if inmates were examined or received treatment following the gas' deployment.