STORMVILLE – For the second
time in four weeks, corrections officers were attacked and injured by
prisoners at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning, February 19 at 8:20 in the morning
and made public at the end of the week by the New York State Correctional
Officers Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents the
officers.
Two corrections officers sustained minor injuries when the inmate, Anthony
Torres, 50, who is service a 25-year sentence for manslaughter and attempted
murder, pulled one of them into his cell and punched him several times.
According to the union, Torres has just returned to his cell but did not
lock gate. An officer assigned to the cell block gave him several orders
to close the gate, but he refused. As the officer went over to close the
gate, Torres grabbed the officer by the shirt with both hands and attempted
to pull him into the cell. The officer tried to push away but couldn’t
and Torres punched him several times on his body as he tried to pull him
into his cell.
During the attack, the officer activated his personal alarm and struck
Torres as he pulled him into the cell.
The second officer responded and sprayed pepper spray in the inmate’s
face to get him to let go of the officer’s shirt.
The inmate released his grip on the officer, but continued to struggle
with both when they tried to get restrains on him.
Two additional officers responded and put the inmate in body holds while
he was put in restraints.
Torres was convicted of manslaughter and attempted murder in Queens in
2005. He stabbed his estranged wife to death and stabbed her boyfriend
in Jamaica, Queens in 2004.
Following this latest attack, he was placed in a special housing unit
and will face disciplinary charges as a result of the attack on the officers.
“Sunday’s incident is a clear example of how providing our
members with additional resources, like pepper spray, can help them as
well as get violent inmates under control quickly,” said Union Vice
President for the Mid-Hudson Regional Michael Mazzella.
Late last month, six correctional officers were injured when attacked
by three prisoners at Green Haven.
