NJ Corrections Officer Stabbed Multiple Times In Inmate Attack

NEW JERSEY — A corrections officer at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton was stabbed multiple times by an inmate wielding a seven-inch long makeshift weapon, authorities said.

The officer was stabbed in the right shoulder and twice near his neck and shoulder on the evening of May 22, according to a statement from the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Associations Local 105, which represents roughly 5,000 Garden State correctional officers.

The officer was rushed to the prison’s medical wing and is recovering from his injuries as of Thursday, the PBA said. The inmate accused of the stabbing was not identified in the statement.

“This unprovoked and heinous attempted murder of our officer underscores the urgent need for significant legislative action,” William Sullivan, president of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 105, said in a statement. PBA Local 105 represents 5,000 Garden State correctional officers.

Following the attack, Sullivan urged the passage of two state bills — A2378 and S3201 — which would increase penalties for assaulting police officers and mandate that sentences be served consecutively, rather than concurrently “as has been the practice in recent years within the judicial system," he said.

Sullivan also called on state lawmakers to amend the state's solitary confinement law, “as it poses a grave risk to the safety of our officers,” he said. That law, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019, prohibits solitary confinement unless there is a reasonable cause to believe they or others would be at risk of serious harm and that any less restrictive intervention would be insufficient to lower that risk; inmates are also prohibited from being held in solitary confinement for more than 20 hours per day, 20 consecutive days and 30 days within a two month period.

“These brutal attacks have additionally cost the state’s prison system tens of millions in staffing and overtime, not including the cost of medical trips and doctor visits,” Sullivan added. “We cannot afford to wait until one of us is killed; meaningful reform is needed immediately.”