MID-HUDSON – An officer at Fishkill Correctional Facility was treated at a local hospital after an inmate attacked and punched him at the medium-security prison.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, May 12 at Ulster Correctional facility, staff recovered 3.5 ounces of synthetic marijuana, K2, from three sardine cans mailed to an inmate at the medium-security prison.
The incidents were made public by the union representing the officers, New York State Correctional Officers PBA.
The Fishkill prison incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19.
The officer was conducting rounds when he was struck in the head and placed in a chokehold. The officer struggled with the inmate before he could activate his personal alarm, which summoned another officer to the scene and had to pepper spray the inmate which disabled him resulting in the chokehold being released.
The inmate was placed in mechanical restraints and removed from the scene and placed in a special housing unit. He is serving a seven-year sentence for armed assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment.
The injured officer was treated for several contusions to his head and eye area, blood in his ear canal, and neck pain. He was treated and released at a local hospital. He did not return to duty.
NYSCOPBA Regional Vice President Mike Mazzella said the attack was “brutal, unprovoked” by an inmate “who had no regard for rules or discipline.”
He said until the state prisons department changes its disciplinary police those types of attacks will continue.
Mazzella encouraged the Dutchess County District Attorney to consider pursuing criminal charges in the Fishkill attack.
In the Ulster prison incident, an officer was processing incoming packages for inmates when he noticed the weight of the sardine cans was not normal. The officer x-rayed the cans and notices abnormalities inside.
The cans were opened, and the officer recovered 21 latex bundles inside. A brown leafy substance was inside the bundles and the substance tested positive for K2.
Mazzella said the seizure follows “an alarming trend of drugs recovered from package rooms at facilities across the state.”
He said since the pandemic shut down most operations in the state, the amount of drugs mailed to inmates in prisons has significantly increased. “Contraband seized was already at record levels before COVID-19, but with inmate visits suspended, “they are finding new creative ways to smuggle drugs in through the mail.”
Mazzella urged other counties create task forces to address prison assaults just as the Sullivan County DA’s Office announced last week.
NEWS STORY PROVIDED BY: Mid Hudson News -www.midhudsonnews.com