A violent day at Green Haven Correctional Facility left seven officers injured — three of whom were hospitalized — after two separate inmate attacks on Monday.
The first incident happened in the dayroom, where an inmate suddenly attacked a female officer at her station, punching her in the face. As another officer intervened, more inmates got involved — one assaulting the original attacker and others attempting to join in before staff broke it up. The female officer was taken to Putnam Hospital with a swollen eye, a chipped tooth, and a cut lip.
The second assault came during routine inmate movement, when an inmate threw a milk crate during an argument. After being ordered to the wall, he suddenly charged officers and hit two of them in the face as they tried to restrain him. Both officers were treated for knee injuries and facial abrasions at Vasser Brothers Hospital.
Three additional officers were treated at the prison for minor injuries and remained on duty.
The inmate involved in the second incident is serving a 20-years-to-life sentence for a 2015 manslaughter conviction in Albany County.
Joe Horacek, Vice President of NYSCOPBA’s Mid-Hudson Region, said the incident highlights a troubling trend.
“The number of assaults on staff and inmate-on-inmate assaults are trending close to last year’s record numbers,” Horacek said. “This is not a system that is sustainable… staff will continue to leave through retirement or looking outside of corrections and choosing to find a safer line of work.”
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