Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A state employees union says there have been more than a dozen attacks on Kansas prison guards this summer, including an altercation with a Hutchinson inmate that left a guard with a concussion.
Rebecca Proctor, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, says there have been 17 inmate-on-staff batteries since June. KOSE attributes the problems to understaffing and inadequate training for guards.
The most recent incident involved a fight at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility earlier this month in which an inmate lashed out at two guards with a chair. One of the guards was treated for a concussion.
Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay says overall staffing numbers are not down and incidents between staff and inmates are a “normal part of our business.”