STAFF ASSAULT AT CHESHIRE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION

New Britain, CT – On Monday, August 25th, at approximately 11:18 AM, an inmate in the Cheshire Correctional Institution attacked a correctional officer viciously and without provocation during meal time. 

The inmate threw searing hot coffee in the officer’s face, and then revealed an improvised weapon—a shank—and attempted to slash the officer’s face. The inmate proceeded to make multiple additional attempts to stab and cut the officer. 

Three correctional officers sustained various injuries to the neck, back, and knees while restraining the inmate and had to be transported to the hospital for examination and treatment. 

This assault is yet another incident in a worrying trend of rapidly deteriorating conditions inside Connecticut’s state correctional institutions. From a crisis-level influx of dangerous drugs to alarming and perilous short staffing, and a dramatic rise in assaults on correctional staff, the state’s refusal to take decisive action puts the lives of staff and inmates at risk every day. These issues are worsened by the fact that correctional officers continue to work in an increasingly dangerous job without the security of a contract in place.