By C1 Staff
CRANSTON, R.I. – Four correctional officers at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston were assaulted by inmates last month.
Cranston Patch reports that the assaults were separate incidents.
One officer was bitten on the hand while attempting to cuff an inmate in the High Security Center. The second was assaulted while working in a segregation unit and “suffered a serious injury to his arm which required surgery to repair along with minor abrasions to his face.”
Two other officers were also assaulted in separate incidents in maximum security: one was punched while breaking up a fight between two inmates and the other was struck in the face during an unprovoked attack while carrying food trays for an afternoon meal.
The last incident resulted in a serious facial injury that required a large number of stitches.
The next day, a fight broke out in the Intake Service center between three inmates and escalated when two civilians joined in. Staff immediately gained control of the situation and placed the inmates in segregation. The civilians were arrested by state police.
“These assaults follow a yearlong trend of escalating violence within our facilities,” said Richard Ferruccio, president of the International Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, the union that represents officers at ACI. “So far in January, we have had 60 inmates booked for fighting and/or assault compared with 38 in December 2014.
“We have made our concerns for staff safety known to our department management team. We hope with Jim Weeden’s recent appointment as the permanent Associate Director of Institutions and Operations, we will begin to see changes needed to protect our members from inmate violence.
“Until then, staff are advised to be on an elevated state of alert when working in our facilities.”