By Carly Newton
The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
DANNEMORA, N.Y. — Eight officers were injured in a six-day period at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association said Wednesday.
NYSCOPBA, the union representing corrections officers and sergeants, said two of the officers injured required additional treatment at a local hospital.
The injuries stemmed from five separate incidents, one of which was a violent inmate-on-inmate altercation in the recreation yard involving over two dozen inmates, the union said in a news release Wednesday.
The first incident occurred March 30 when an officer noticed an inmate stumbling down the cell block, appearing intoxicated.
As staff attempted to escort the inmate back to his cell, he grabbed the cell bars and refused to release them. When staff tried to remove his hands from the bars, the inmate swung an elbow and punched one of the officers in the face. The officer sustained facial swelling and knee injuries. A second officer also injured their knee while subduing the inmate.
Both officers were transported to University of Vermont Health Network - Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh for further treatment, NYSCOPBA said.
Later that day, another officer, while securing medication distribution, observed a second inmate on the floor showing signs of intoxication.
As staff attempted to remove him, the inmate became aggressive and elbowed an officer in the face. The officer sustained knee and shoulder pain but remained on duty after being treated at the facility.
During the inmate’s escort off the block, he attempted to headbutt an officer but was subdued. He was placed in leg restraints and transported to the infirmary for observation, the union said.
On April 4, an officer conducting security rounds at the facility hospital was kicked in the head by one of two intoxicated inmates. The officer was treated for hand, arm and shoulder injuries at the facility and remained on duty. According to NYSCOPBA, during a search of the area, staff discovered a piece of paper suspected to be soaked in drugs.
Also on April 4, a violent inmate-on-inmate fight broke out in the recreation yard involving 28 inmates.
“Despite multiple chemical agent deployments, the fighting continued, and a fifth round of chemical agents was needed to stop the violence,” the union wrote.
“The inmates were escorted to the mess hall, where one spit on an officer. During the search of the yard, staff recovered two weapons, which were placed into evidence. No officers were injured in the altercation.”
On April 5 , another violent incident took place in the mess hall when an inmate suddenly began making stabbing motions toward another inmate. The fight quickly escalated to involve a dozen inmates, NYSCOPBA said.
Several rounds of pepper spray were used to subdue the combatants. After the incident was under control, a search of the mess hall uncovered two sharpened metal shanks, a sharpened toothbrush and a ceramic blade.
The inmate who had been stabbed required medical treatment at an outside hospital for several puncture wounds to his back, the union said.
“These are the daily realities our officers face, yet they continue to perform their duties with professionalism and commitment,” John Roberts , NYSCOPBA Northern Region vice president, said.
“Thankfully, the officers were not severely injured, but we know that is not always the case. This situation is a direct result of failed criminal justice policies enacted by the State Legislature . Progressive state lawmakers often fail to acknowledge the dangers correctional officers face, focusing instead on inmates and neglecting the safety and needs of those who protect them.”
LAWMAKERS’ RESPONSE
In a visit to Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora earlier this year, Michael Cashman (D- Plattsburgh ), assemblymember for the 115th district, said he met with correction officers and heard firsthand about the severe lack of resources and tools available to help them in these situations.
“These incidents underscore the urgent need to ensure that our correction officers, civilian staff and the incarcerated population are all protected within a secure and stable environment,” Cashman said.
“That is why I am actively working with the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association to advance meaningful reforms.”
Potential inmate homicides are also being investigated in Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone, Gouverneur Correctional Facility and Riverview Correctional Facility.
To address this, Cashman has sponsored legislation that would prohibit the Department of Corrections from placing incarcerated individuals in double-occupancy residential rehabilitation unit cells without their consent.
“An important step in reducing tension and preventing violence, and one that NYSCOBA supports,” he said.
Cashman is also co-sponsoring legislation to establish the crime of forcible touching of a correction officer and to strengthen penalties for sexual offenses committed against staff while performing their duties.
“We have more work to do,” he said. “Every state employee in any agency deserves a safe workplace. We owe it to those who serve on the front lines of our correctional system to act with urgency, balance and a commitment to safety for all.”
CONTRABAND CONCERNS
State Sen. Dan Stec (R-C, Queensbury ) said what stood out to him the most about NYSCOPBA’s news release Wednesday was the mention of “intoxicated inmates.”
“There’s a contraband component to a lot of these incidents now,” Stec told the Press-Republican.
Stec said inmates are getting contraband in the prisons through several measures, including mail and packages.
He said prisons can crack down on contraband through the mandatory use of body scanners for visitors wanting contact visits and allowing legal mail to be delivered to inmates on tablets electronically, instead of physically, to decrease the possibility of harmful chemicals getting in the prison.
Stec explained due to attorney-client confidentiality, prisoners’ legal mail cannot be opened like regular correspondences can be.
Because of this, Stec said prisoners have been receiving falsified legal mail to smuggle in drugs undetected. If legal mail turns to electronic only, that would help eliminate that way of contraband getting in.
“The NYSCOPBA press release today talks about paper that was soaked in some (type of drug),” he said. “This is that legal mail stuff.”
Stec has proposed legislation that would address these issues in state prisons.
However, he said the state and Gov. Kathy Hochul continue to not make corrections a priority in the budget or elsewhere, and it does not appear to be one for them any time soon.
“Is it gonna take a staff member to die because of some sort of exposure? I don’t want that. None of us should. And this is all foreseeable. That’s what frustrates me. This is foreseeable and it’s preventable,” Stec said.
“We have a contraband crisis. We have a violence crisis … When was the last time you heard (the governor) talk about corrections at all?”
HALT ACT
Stec is also carrying legislation that would repeal the HALT Act.
The Humane Alternative to Long-term Incarceration, or HALT, Act is state legislation prohibiting the use of solitary confinement in prisons and has been criticized by many since its implementation statewide.
Stec said the staffing issues at the prisons, worsened by last year’s strike that resulted in 3,000 officers leaving their jobs for good, have been made worse by HALT.
“If you look at the statistics, since HALT went into place, assaults inside of prison facilities have gone through the roof, both on staff and other inmates,” he said.
“You’ve had three inmates killed by another inmate in the North Country in the last couple months. These are staffing problems.”
Following the deaths of the three incarcerated individuals, Assemblymember Matt Simpson (R,C-Adirondack) also called for “swift action” to repeal the HALT Act earlier this week.
“These heartbreaking tragedies remind us that while the HALT Act was passed with the noble intention of protecting incarcerated individuals, it has instead created an environment of unchecked violence,” Simpson said. “By severely restricting the most critical tool our COs have to safely remove those who pose immediate danger, we have made our prisons less safe for staff and for the very people the reforms were meant to help.”
Simpson also currently sponsors legislation to repeal these restrictions and restore the tools needed to protect everyone inside New York’s correctional facilities.
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