BROCTON, N.Y. — An inmate has been indicted after he was caught on surveillance video attacking and injuring a civilian staff member, then attacking a corrections officer who came to her aid.
The attack happened on Feb. 23 at Lakeview Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility while an offender rehabilitation coordinator was providing instruction to inmate J’Kendric Agee and other inmates, according to the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office. Surveillance video released on May 28 shows the coordinator walking toward Agee when he springs up from his desk and starts attacking her.
Video shows Agee push the coordinator into the wall and throw several punches toward her head. She fell, striking her head on a metal desk before going to the floor, where the attack continued, NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, Inc. (NYSCOPBA) said.
At the time of the attack, NYSCOPBA said a corrections officer stationed outside the classroom immediately called for assistance while the counselor tried to defend herself, kicking at the inmate’s legs and groin in an effort to stop the assault.
Additional staff responded, but the union said the inmate refused orders to comply. One corrections officer attempted to gain control using a body hold but was repeatedly punched in the back of the head when the inmate broke free. OC spray was deployed multiple times, but it had no effect on Agee, NYSCOPBA said. It ultimately took four corrections officers to restrain the inmate.
Both the counselor and the officer who intervened were evaluated by facility medical staff before being transported to Westfield Hospital.
The counselor sustained injuries to her jaw, neck and head. The responding officer was diagnosed with a concussion and reported swelling and pain to the back of his head. A second officer assisting in the restraint was treated at the facility for shoulder and elbow injuries.
The district attorney’s office said the coordinator was conducting programming required under New York’s Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, commonly known as the HALT Act. The law, enacted in 2022, limits the use of solitary confinement and requires therapeutic programming for incarcerated individuals.
According to prosecutors, Agee and the other inmates in the room were not restrained at the time of the alleged attack.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt said his office intends to pursue the case aggressively.
“No one should ever have to earn a living while in fear for their personal safety or that of their co-workers. Unless you’ve experienced it for yourself, and I hope no person reading this ever does, an unprovoked attack doesn’t just threaten bodily harm and one’s physical safety but leaves behind substantial emotional scars that can last a lifetime,” Schmidt said in a statement. “There is no place in this community, and certainly not in the workplace, for any person who attacks and assaults another person without justification. We take these cases very seriously and will aggressively pursue all options for holding those persons who hurt others accountable under the law to the fullest extent possible.”
A Chautauqua County grand jury returned a secret indictment in April charging Agee with two counts of second-degree assault, a Class D violent felony, according to the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office.
The indictment was unsealed in County Court, where Judge David Foley entered a not guilty plea on Agee’s behalf and set bail at $250,000 cash, or alternatively a $500,000 property bond or a $500,000 bond secured by a 10% deposit.
The court scheduled a discovery conference for June 22 and remanded Agee into custody. He was subsequently returned to Attica Correctional Facility, where officials said he has been housed since the alleged assaults.
New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said the indictment demonstrates that assaults against correctional staff will be prosecuted.
“This indictment sends a clear message that violent assaults on correctional staff will be met with swift accountability,” Martuscello said. “Our officers and civilian staff report to work each day to maintain safety and order and deliver rehabilitative services in challenging environments. They deserve to do so without fear of violence.”
Martuscello also thanked Schmidt and the district attorney’s office for their work on the case.
The case remains pending in Chautauqua County Court.
