Inmate Attacks CO At Wallkill Correctional Facility: PBA

WALLKILL, NY — A correction officer was attacked by an inmate at the Wallkill Correctional Facility.

Authorities said the incident happened April 21 at the men’s medium security prison, according to a Facebook post by the NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

As inmates were entering the rear recreation yard, officials said, an officer gave an inmate an order to pull his pants up.

The inmate ignored the order, and the officer gave the man a second order, which led the inmate to turn around a yell an expletive at the officer.

Prison officials said the officer ordered the inmate to leave the yard and return to his housing unit.

As the officer unlocked the rear gate, the inmate verbally threatened the officer with clenched fists. The officer ordered the inmate to put his hands on the wall for a patdown.

While the inmate initially complied, as the officer approached, he came off the wall and struck the officer in the face, authorities said.

After a brief struggle, the officer forced the inmate to the ground, and a second officer was able to get the inmate’s arms behind his back and into handcuffs.

The inmate was then removed from the area.

Both officers were treated at the prison’s primary care unit. The officer who was struck in the face had pain and swelling of his face from the forehead to his cheek. The other officer was evaluated; no injuries were reported. They both remained on duty.

According to officials, the 36-year-old inmate is serving a seven-year sentence after being convicted in Queens County in 2017 for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree perjury. He had previously been convicted in 2010 for second-degree robbery and served a three-year prison sentence.

The inmate was transferred to the Schawangunk Correctional Facility after the incident.

Chris Moreau, Mid-Hudson Region vice president of NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, said that, thankfully, the officer who was involved was able to quickly stop the attack and, with the assistance of another officer, subdue the inmate.

“That is not always the case,” he said. “We have multiple officers who cannot return to duty because of the severity of their injuries from other attacks.”

Moreau said the fault lies with the state legislature that refuses to address the violence inside prison walls.