VIDALIA — A Louisiana inmate was arrested Thursday after allegedly biting a correctional officer in the midst of a prison dispute.

Jacoby G. Merritt, 24, 123 E. Oak St., Ville Platte, La., was arrested Thursday on a charge of battery of a corrections facility employee after allegedly biting an officer during an altercation in the prison.

When a fight broke out in a dorm — a large cell used to hold 40 or more inmates — at the Concordia Parish Correctional Facility, several officers rushed to break up the altercation.

Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy David Hedrick said Merritt, who was reportedly involved in the squabble, bit the officer attempting to restrain him so forcefully that his teeth left a ring of torn skin on the officer’s arm.

“He was wearing his jacket,” Hedrick said. “But (the bite) left almost a circle on his arm.”

Hedrick said the officers restrained Merritt and placed him in solitary confinement.

“Any infraction committed on a correctional officer — we take it very seriously,” Hedrick said. “Fights are common in prisons, and that job is not for every man. I commend our correctional officers for their work.”

Hedrick said medical professionals would test Merritt for various health anomalies to make sure the officer did not contract any diseases from the wound, but that the officer required no serious emergency medical attention.

“It takes a special kind of person to go in there and work when he knows every inmate is a felon,” Hedrick said. “I appreciate our correctional officers’ work.”