Inmates injure eight COs at Green Haven - Mid Hudson News (2024)

• August 11, 2024
• 5:00 am

STORMVILLE – Eight officers were injured at Green Haven Correctional Facility when four inmates attacked staff in an assault that lasted several minutes before officers were able to stop the violent attack. Two officers needed to be transported to Vassar Brothers Medical Center for treatment for injuries inflicted on them by inmates, according to a source close to the investigation.

On Wednesday, July 31, an officer was attempting to secure an inmate in his cell when another inmate approached the officer and took an aggressive stance. The inmate ignored the officer’s orders to back away and grabbed the officer and pulled him to the ground. On the ground, the inmate struck the officer several times in the head. He was able to get on top of the officer and continued to strike him.

A second officer responded to the attack and applied pepper (OC) spray to the inmate with no effect. A third officer arrived and the three officers were able to force the inmate’s arms behind his back and handcuffs were applied.

The inmate who was originally being secured in his cell, then joined in the assault and kicked one of the officers in the head twice. OC spray was administered with no effect. The inmate grabbed the top of a garbage can and attempted to strike another officer. When additional staff arrived, the inmate retreated into his cell and secured the cell gate.

A third and fourth inmate also joined in the attack. One inmate struck an officer in the head and the second inmate grabbed a female officer’s arms and attempted to take her OC spray from her. Body holds were used on both inmates and officers eventually secured the inmates with handcuffs.

During the assault on the staff, one of the inmates involved shoved a female officer out of the way at the end gate to the cell block and ripped the gate out of her hands in the process. The four inmates were removed from the cell block and placed in Special Housing Units (SHU) pending disciplinary charges.

The officer initially assaulted sustained head, face, and shoulder injuries. A second officer sustained a wrist injury with limited range of motion. Both officers were transported to the medical center and did not return to duty. Six other officers who responded to the attack were treated by medical staff at the facility for shoulder, hand, knee, back, and elbow injuries. They all remained on duty after the attack.

Six days before the July 31 attack, six inmates were placed in Special Housing Units after five inmates ganged up on a lone inmate while they were returning from the recreation yard and began beating him. Officers used OC spray several times in an attempt to stop the violent attack. The spray had no effect, and additional officers were needed for assistance. Another round of OC spray was administered and it stopped three of the inmates from fighting. Staff used body holds on the remaining combative inmates and the melee was stopped. No staff were injured during the fight.

“Until staffing levels are increased, attacks on officers like the one that occurred on Wednesday will continue. Two of the inmates involved in the assault have served multiple stints in state prison and they know with a weakened disciplinary system that there is no real punishment for attacking staff,” said Joe Horacek, Mid-Hudson Region Vice President of the New York State Correction Officers PBA (NYSCOPBA). “The system is broken and until adequate resources are provided, attacks like this one will continue at prisons across the state. The state closing prisons is not going to help the problem, to the contrary, it will only compound an already dangerous work environment.”

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