Drone Dropping Drugs Over Prison Yard Sparks Brawl at Mansfield Correctional Institution in Ohio
The drone appeared over Mansfield Correctional Insttitution
— -- A prison brawl in Ohio was sparked in an unusual way -- after a drone flew over the yard and dropped drugs and other contraband, according to an incident report.
The mayhem broke out on July 29 just after 2:30 p.m. at Mansfield Correctional Institution in Mansfield, Ohio.
According to the report, surveillance footage showed a drone that "passed over the recreation yards immediately before the fight began."
The drone dropped a package, which was intended for one inmate, but someone else picked up the package, sparking a fight.
"The package was purportedly then thrown over the fence to the south recreation yard," the report says.
Responding officers used pepper spray to break up the fight and ordered the inmates to get on the ground.
More than 200 inmates -- 75 from the north yard and 130 from the south -- were taken to the gyms where they were strip searched. It was not clear how many were involved in the fight.
No staff or inmates suffered injuries, the incident report said.
In one of the prison's equipment rooms, guards found a package containing 144.5 grams of tobacco, 65.4 grams of marijuana and 6.6 grams of heroin.
The housing units that were in the yards at the time were placed on restricted movement, the report said.
It was not clear if any inmates faced charges or were disciplined.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction declined to comment beyond the report.
Additional reporting by Josh Margolin