Inmates flush mattress pieces in toilets

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Monroe County Jail inmates cut up pieces of their mattresses and flushed them down toilets, clogging pipes and causing moderate flooding in the sheriff's department, officials said.

Several pipes backed up Friday night and leaked throughout the sheriff's department, which is located below the jail. Several ceiling tiles were damaged by flooding and the office of Chief Deputy Chuck Wilson incurred heavy damage, officials said.

No damage estimates were immediately available, and there was no immediate word on whether disciplinary action would be taken against the inmates responsible.

The incident is similar to problems at the jail in Vanderburgh County, where inmates have clogged toilets in the past. Six Evansville police detectives sued the local building authority there to fix pipes so they no longer leak sewage when inmates clog the toilets