COXSACKIE – Two officers were injured when a prisoner at the Greene Correctional Facility refused to comply with an order and punched them several times in the head and face.
The incident occurred just before 5 p.m. on Friday, December 20 when the inmate took a fighting stance and attempted to punch an officer, according to a report from the officers’ union, the New York State Corrections Officers PBA.
The officer then applied a body hold around the inmate’s waist in an attempt to take him to the ground but was unsuccessful.
Two other officers arrived on the scene. One attempted to apply a body hold, but was punched in the head by the prisoner and was unable to assist. The second officer was punched several times in the face by the prisoner and returned strikes in an attempt to subdue him, but the inmate continued to assault the officer striking him in the face until the officer was unable to assist further.
Two more officers arrived and were able to get the prisoner to the ground where they restrained him and placed mechanical wrist restraints on him.
The union reported the officer who was struck in the face several times was transported to Albany Medical Center by Ambulance and was unable to return to duty due to the severity of his injuries. All of the other staff remained on duty with injuries reported.
The inmate was placed in a special housing unit to separate him from the general population pending a disciplinary hearing.
The prisoner involved was committed to Greene Correctional Facility in March 2019 following his sentencing in Monroe County to five years in prison on a conviction of attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
