By Richard Chumney
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
MONTVILLE, Conn. — Several staff members at Corrigan Correctional Institution were injured Monday when they were attacked by an inmate during a routine medical examination, prison officials said.
Three of the staff members sought medical treatment at an outside hospital after the violent assault, according to Andrius Banevicius, a spokesperson for the state Department of Correction.
Banevicius said Connecticut State Police are investigating the attack. He said the identity of the inmate is not being released at this time due to the ongoing criminal probe.
Banevicius also said the department will conduct a thorough review of the incident to prevent similar assaults in the future.
In a statement, Interim DOC Commissioner Sharonda Carlos said she is praying for “a swift recovery” for the staff members who were injured.
“This incident serves as a stark reminder of the difficult and unpredictable environment the brave correctional and health services staff of this agency work in daily,” Carlos said.
AFSCME Corrections Employees Local #1565, which represents employees at the prison, said the inmate verbally threatened medical staff during a follow-up visit for previous care.
The union said the inmate also told staffers he no longer wanted to be housed at Corrigan, and that he was going to get out of the high-security prison that day “one way or another.”
A lieutenant responded to de-escalate the situation and explained to the inmate that he would need to be temporarily placed in restrictive housing due to his threats, the union said.
The union said the inmate then used a hard cast he was wearing from a previous injury to repeatedly beat employees, including medical staff, the lieutenant and three officers.
The organization described the attack as predictable and accused the department of ignoring warnings about the inmate’s history of violence. The union urged officials to make “meaningful investments in facility security.”
“Our officers have spent years urging the Department of Correction to provide a safer working environment and the basic tools required to ensure that staff can go home to their families alive and uninjured at the end of their shift,” Union President Michael Vargo said. “Instead, the Department of Correction cuts corners, just to save a buck — and this is the consequence. Something needs to change.”
State correctional ombudsman DeVaughn Ward condemned the assault in a statement. But he also expressed concerns about the union’s public remarks about the attack, which included a list of the inmate’s internal disciplinary history while incarcerated.
“Information of this nature is not publicly available and is accessible only through an individual’s employment with the Department of Correction,” Ward said. “The public disclosure of confidential correctional information raises serious concerns regarding compliance with Department policy and the public’s trust that sensitive records will be protected.”
Ward said he has asked Carlos, the interim commissioner, to launch an internal investigation into how the information was released to the public and whether any laws, department policies or ethical obligations were violated.
Additionally, Ward said he disagrees with “the broader narrative advanced in the union’s statement.” He noted that the department currently employs as many, or more, staff than it did when the state operated an additional six correctional facilities.
“Every assault on staff is unacceptable and demands accountability,” Ward said. “However, publicly cataloging an incarcerated person’s criminal history and institutional disciplinary record may generate headlines, but it does nothing to advance rehabilitation, improve institutional safety, or further the Department’s Human Services Agency mission.”
State records show the inmate previously filed a claim against the prison system with the state Office of the Claims Commissioner, alleging that he was assaulted by two officers on Nov. 1, 2023. The claim was later dismissed after the inmate failed to follow up on the filing.
The assault comes about a month after an inmate at the same prison attempted to sexually assault a clinical social worker. Officials have said state police are investigating and criminal charges are expected.
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