Several Inmate on Inmate Fights at Facility Result in Injured Officers, One Officer Attacked and Sustains Concussion
For Immediate Release/Press release
April 18, 2022
Albion , NY – Several inmate on inmate fights over a two day period resulted in multiple officers getting injured while attempting to stop the fights at Orleans Correctional Facility last week.
In addition, one inmate savagely attacked and kicked an officer in the head causing a two inch laceration, concussion and fracture above the left eye that needed to be treated at an outside hospital.
On Wednesday, April 13, during classroom movement, three inmates began to fight. The inmates ignored orders to stop fighting from staff. A staff response was called. In order to get the inmates to comply, OC spray was administered. The spray had the desired effect on one inmate. The other two inmates remained combative. OC spray was administered a second time and the two remaining inmates became compliant.
During the fight, a fourth inmate, who was in the outside hallway, attempted to enter the classroom and get involved in the fight. An officer grabbed the non-compliant inmate in a body hold and forced him to the ground. Handcuffs were applied and the inmate became compliant.
The four inmates were removed from the classroom. They face disciplinary charges in the incident.
Four officers sustained injuries containing and stopping the fighting. One officer sustained a laceration to his finger and shoulder pain. The remaining officers sustained multiple abrasions.
They were treated by facility medical staff and remained on duty.
The following day, April 14, six officers were injured in two separate incidents at the facility. Two of the injured officers needed to be treated at an outside hospital.
During an escort, an inmate became combative with officers and continued to fight with them when they applied body holds and used OC spray to control the inmate. Four officers were injured in the incident.
Two of the officers were taken to an outside hospital for treatment of knee, wrist and forearm injuries.
The second incident, two officers were injured and several officers exposed to OC spray when three inmates began fighting in a classroom. The inmates initially would not comply to multiple orders to stop fighting. OC spray was administered several times before the three inmates became compliant.
The inmates were placed in handcuffs and removed from the classroom. They face disciplinary charges in the incident.
The injured officers were treated by facility medical staff and remained on duty.
Less than an hour after those two incidents, an officer was attacked and kicked above the left eye when an inmate approached him in a facility room and ignored orders to sit back down. Staff immediately responded to the attack and contained the inmate. Initially compliant, he attempted to kick officers again as he was escorted out of the room. Body holds were utilized and the inmate was forced to the ground.
Handcuffs were applied and the inmate was initially placed in a Special Housing Unit and then transferred to Attica Correctional Facility.
The officer who was kicked above the left eye was taken to an outside hospital for treatment of a two inch laceration above his left eye, concussion and fracture over the left eye.
Two officers sustained wrist and knee injuries containing the inmate. They remained on duty.
“Assaults, inmate fights and injuries continue throughout all of our correctional facilities in the state and have gotten worse since HALT legislation went into effect on April 1. All of these incidents at Orleans occurred in a Residential Rehabilitation Unit that was created by the HALT legislation. It doesn’t take a lot to connect the dots and realize all HALT has done is make prisons more dangerous. Our members, who are attacked daily, are overworked and the facilities are understaffed, creating a serious safety issue. The legislators, who supported this ill-conceived legislation, should put on a uniform and see firsthand how their lack of vision, has negatively impacted the facilities.” – stated Kenny Gold, NYSCOPBA Western Region Vice President.