N.Y. corrections officer slashed by inmate

By Robert Harding
The Citizen

Auburn, N.Y. — A corrections officer was injured after being attacked by an incarcerated individual at a state prison in Cayuga County.

The incident occurred on Oct. 16, according to the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, which represents corrections officers in state prisons. An incarcerated individual at Cayuga Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Moravia, barricaded himself in his cell and covered his cell window. He did not respond to officers ordering him to remove the covering.

When officers opened the door to the cell, the incarcerated individual charged at them with his mattress. NYSCOPBA said officers countered and pushed the incarcerated individual into the cell. Four officers removed the mattress and detained the incarcerated individual, who is serving a six-year sentence after being convicted of second-degree burglary earlier this year.

During the attack, an officer observed the incarcerated individual making a slashing motion. It wasn't until after the incident that an officer realized he had been cut, according to the union. The officer had three cuts to his face, including one that stretched from left cheek to underneath his ear. He was sent to Guthrie Cortland Medical Center for treatment.

While the union says medical staff believed the cuts were caused by a "cutting-type weapon," no weapon has been recovered. The incarcerated individual has since been transferred to Auburn Correctional Facility as he awaits disciplinary charges.

A second officer who responded to the incident sustained minor injuries — scraps to his leg and hand pain — after subduing the incarcerated individual. He was treated at the prison, the union said.

NYSCOPBA also reported another incident that occurred on Tuesday involving an incarcerated individual who threw urine from a plastic cup at an officer. The officer had approached a cell to speak with an incarcerated individual when their cellmate threw the liquid. The officer was hit in the upper body, face, eyes and mouth, according to a news release.

The officer was first treated at the facility, then sought additional treatment at a medical center.

Assaults on staff at state prisons are at near-record levels this year. While most of the assaults have occurred in maximum-security prisons, medium-security facilities have also reported an uptick in violence. As of Oct. 1, there were 312 assaults on staff this year, a new high for the state prison system.

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