Jail fight leads to termination of corrections officer

(Tulsa-AP) -- A corrections officer in Tulsa has been fired after two men he put in a cell got into a fight, critically injuring one of the inmates.

Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Marvin Branham says DeAndre Ingram was fired for failing to property perform his job.

A corrections officer says she warned another officer not to place Joshua Cudjoe and Brandon McKnight in the same cell. The officer says the two had argued while waiting in line in the prebooking area of the Tulsa jail Saturday night.

Investigators say the fight may be racially motivated. Cudjoe is black and McKnight is white.

Cudjoe faces a charge of aggravated assault and battery.

McKnight is hospitalized in Tulsa with injuries to his throat, face and head.

Ingram says he wasn't aware of a conflict between the two and is appealing his termination.