Update: November 16, 2021. Officer Edward Opsahl remains in critical condition following Thursday’s attack. Read more.
Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.
YAKIMA, Wash. — A Yakima police corrections officer was seriously injured in a violent assault by a jail inmate Thursday, police said.
The officer was conducting a routine check of a cell occupied by a 37-year-old inmate around 4:30 p.m. when the man assaulted the officer, leaving him unconscious, according to a news release. Corrections staff immediately requested emergency assistance, and multiple Yakima police officers responded to the municipal jail.
The suspect would not comply with orders to surrender and force was used to take him into custody, the release said.
Officers administered first aid to the officer until emergency medical personnel arrived, and the officer was taken to the hospital where he is in critical but stable condition.
The inmate wasn’t injured and was medically cleared, and was booked into the Yakima County Jail on assault charges.
The Yakima Police Internal Affairs Unit is investigating.
The Yakima City Jail, at 200 S. Third St., has 79 beds for men charged or convicted of misdemeanor crimes.
(c)2021 Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.)