SENECA COUNTY, N.Y. — Two officers trying to prevent an inmate from committing suicide were attacked and injured when they entered a cell at Five Points Correctional Facility, according to the union representing New York state correction officers.
The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association on Friday said that the incident happened on April 7 when two officers witnessed the inmate attempt to hang from a self-made noose inside his cell at the prison in Seneca County.
The officers entered the cell to stop him and he attacked them, NYSCOPBA said, punching one officer in the head and face multiple times and elbowing the other in the side of the head multiple times.
After a brief struggle, the officers were able to get the inmate under control and into mechanical restraints. The inmate was removed from the cell and brought to the infirmary, where he then spit blood in a nurse’s face, NYSCOPBA said.
The officer who was punched in the head and face was reportedly taken to an outside hospital, where he was treated and released. The second officer was treated by medical staff at the facility and remained on duty. The nurse was treated for blood exposure.
The 43-year-old inmate, who was not identified, is serving a 14- to 16-year sentence after being convicted in Erie County of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted promoting prison contraband, the union said. He was placed in a special housing unit following the incident and faces internal disciplinary charges and criminal charges.
“The two officers entered the inmate’s cell to stop him from hanging himself. When they did, he viciously attacked them, injuring both,” NYSCOPBA Western Region Vice President Mark Deburgomaster said in a news release. “He easily could have staged the suicide attempt to get the officers into the cell so he could attack them. If that is the case, I strongly urge the Seneca County District Attorney’s Officer to pursue criminal charges on this inmate, who has an extensive disciplinary record in prison and who is eligible for parole next year.”
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