TEXARKANA — A judge has awarded a $5,000 judgment to a former Miller County jail inmate after he sued over an alleged assault in 2009.

The Texarkana Gazette reports the judge ruled in favor of Shroddric Mitchell, who argued that jail staff failed to stop attacks by other inmates.

Mitchell testified that inmates regularly used a broomstick to reach a button in the control center that opened their cell doors. The judge's ruling said inmates, on occasion, had free rein and at one point took the jailer's keys and went to the women's pod.

Mitchell said he was attacked by a group of inmates for an hour.

Since 2009, a new sheriff has been re-elected and a state review committee has praised the jail for its improvements.