The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y.
AUBURN, N.Y. — Continuing its push against the HALT Act, the state correction officers union said that bodily fluids were thrown at multiple staff members at Auburn Correctional Facility last week.
In a news release Wednesday, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association said the first of four throwing incidents took place Jan. 17 when an inmate threw a “urine-smelling liquid” through their cell bars at the back of an officer conducting rounds. After refusing to exit the cell, the inmate started a small fire inside it and “propelled” liquid at a second officer, the union said.
Both officers were treated for exposure by facility medical staff and then taken to Auburn Community Hospital for treatment.
The same day, an officer watching the main yard saw an inmate spray another inmate in the face with liquid from a container, the union said. The inmates then exchanged punches, and after officers responded, the container was picked up again and its “feces- and urine-smelling liquid” was sprayed at a sergeant and officer.
The sergeant and officer were treated at the hospital for “significant exposure,” and neither has returned to duty, the union said.
On Jan. 24, the union continued, an inmate threw “a urine-smelling liquid” from a cup at the head and upper body of an officer conducting an inmate count. The officer was treated and remained on duty.
The next day, another officer conducting rounds was struck in the face and eyes by “urine-smelling liquid,” the union said. They were treated at the facility and hospital, and did not return to duty.
The union noted that, unrelated to the throwing incidents, liquid-stained paper believed to be synthetic drugs was seized during a recent routine frisk of an inmate who also spit in the face of an officer.
The union concluded its release by saying the HALT Act has “created an environment that is detrimental to the safety of both staff and inmates who follow the rules.”
“Until the Legislature seriously considers the recommendations of the HALT Committee, incidents like these will continue,” the union said. “These throwing incidents not only jeopardize the health of our members but further highlight a work environment that fails to prioritize the safety of the men and women who work inside these prisons every single day.”
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