Updated: 2:53 p.m.
Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was involved in an altercation with another incarcerated person over the weekend at the La Vista Correctional Facility, a state prison for female inmates, in Pueblo.
According to a statement from the Colorado Department of Corrections, the incident occurred Jan. 18, and did not result in any injuries. Peters is currently serving a nine-year sentence for election fraud at the facility.
In surveillance video footage obtained by CPR News, Peters is seen grabbing another inmate’s neck in a scuffle. The video shows Peters dragging a cart across the room toward a closet. Another inmate walks towards the closet and appears to begin to move the cart away from the closet door when Peters emerges from the closet and grabs the inmate by her neck and pushes her. The two appear to exchange words before Peters lets her go and leaves the room.
Peter Ticktin, Peters’ attorney, said in an interview Tuesday that Peters was attacked by the other inmate as Peters was moving a water cart, and that the video that captured the altercation is unclear. He insisted the other inmate struck Peters first.
According to Ticktin, the other inmate said to Peters, “Let me go in there first,” before striking her. Peters allegedly responded with “I’ll just be a minute,” Ticktin said. Ticktin said those were the only words the two women exchanged.
Ticktin said that Peters was later told that Peters herself was going to be charged with felony assault.
It’s unclear if she will face any charges; a message left with 10th District District Attorney Kala Beauvais was not immediately returned.
The corrections department says it is conducting an “administrative investigation” following the incident. And as part of standard safety procedures, Peters was moved to a different housing area after the altercation. Corrections officials emphasized Peters was not placed in solitary confinement, noting that La Vista Correctional Facility does not utilize solitary confinement. Moving inmates involved in incidents while an investigation is underway is routine practice, the department said.
No additional details about the cause of the altercation were released.
