By C1 Staff
FREELAND, Mich. — Members of a corrections union rallied outside the Saginaw Correctional Facility in Michigan on Thursday over budget cuts that have endangered staff at the facility.
MLive reports that nearly 100 members of the union gathered after an officer at the facility was bludgeoned and stabbed by an inmate. The union says budget cuts that lead to understaffing at the facility is what allowed the attack to happen.
“Kevin Ott was one blow to the head away from death due to budget cuts,” said Tom Tylutki, president of the Michigan Corrections Organization.
Ott has since been released and is at home recovering.
His sister, Rebecca Daniels attended the demonstration with her husband and said news of her brother’s attack left her in shock.
“It was horrible, unbelievable news to hear,” she said.
Daniels also noted that her brother’s attack underscores a failing inside the facility.
“It’s gotten to the point where it isn’t safer for corrections officers within the prison.”
Ott’s brother, Paul Ott, has worked at the facility for 20 years. He says the workplace has become more dangerous in the two decades he’s worked there.
“It used to be there would be a fight between prisoners every 4-5 months,” he said. “Now it’s almost a daily experience.”
Eight officers have been cut from both daytime and evening shifts in the last few years, according to MLive. There are now about 41 officers per shift to control nearly 1,400 prisoners.
While the DOC could not immediately confirm those numbers, Russ Marlan, a spokesperson for the DOC, said that attacks on officers were down significantly throughout the state. Officers have also been given TASERs and personal protection devices, which signal if staff members need assistance.
Tylutki said Ott had a TASER on him when he was attacked, but contends that Ott would have been better assisted by an additional officer.
Ott’s family said he is hoping to return to work at the facility, though it isn’t clear if he would return to working on the prison floor.