Exclusive: Racial Tensions Spur Prison Fight

PHOENIX - A riot that broke out over the weekend at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix was racially-motivated, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says.

The inmates had been on lockdown because of serious threats of violence between Hispanic and African American inmates, and once the lockdown was lifted, both groups followed through on those threats.

A brawl started inside the Lower Buckeye Jail shortly after the lockdown was lifted. Surveillance cameras show inmates sitting around eating in the common area when all of a sudden, a fight breaks out.

Inmates start to punch and kick one another. The Sheriff's Office says the fight was involving black and Hispanic inmates.

A former inmate who spent several months inside the Lower Buckeye Jail says extended lockdowns tend to breed violence, and he's not surprised what happened.

"Most of the guys are in jail because they got problems with anger, violence… you got them locked in cells, so when the door opens... people handle their business," says the former inmate, who didn't want to be named.

The Sheriff recently locked down all their jails because of racial tensions, and they say this fight shows they were right to be worried.

The inmates who started the riot could be facing new charges.