By Josh LaBella
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
CHESHIRE, Conn. — An inmate at Cheshire Correctional Institution attacked a corrections officer on Monday, officials say.
AFSCME Council 4, the union for corrections officers, said in a statement Wednesday the officer was “viciously attacked” without provocation during meal time.
“The inmate threw searing hot coffee in the officer’s face, and then revealed an improvised weapon — a shank — and attempted to slash the officer’s face,” the union said in a statement. “The inmate proceeded to make multiple additional attempts to stab and cut the officer.”
Officials said three corrections officers sustained various injuries to the neck, back and knees while restraining the inmate and had to be transported to the hospital for examination and treatment. They said this assault is yet another incident in a worrying trend of rapidly deteriorating conditions inside Connecticut’s state correctional institutions.
“From a crisis-level influx of dangerous drugs to alarming and perilous short-staffing, and a dramatic rise in assaults on correctional staff, the state’s
refusal to take decisive action puts the lives of staff and inmates at risk every day,” they said. “These issues are worsened by the fact that correctional officers continue to work in an increasingly dangerous job without the security of a contract in place.”
Representatives from the state Department of Correction did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
In January 2024, officials said an inmate at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield attacked staff and pulled a shank when he was being restrained. Two corrections officers were injured in the incident.
How can a single corrections officer overcome multiple attackers? The video below discusses 12 recommendations COs can take in the event of an attack.
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