Another Assault at Green Haven: Officers Injured in Latest Incident

It has been a tumultuous few months at Green Haven Correctional Facility. Dating back to last year, a number of incidents between officers and inmates, as well as inmates against other inmates has put the facility in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

This latest incident took place earlier this month where both a corrections officer as well as a sergeant sustained injuries while dealing with an inmate.

Details on Latest Green Haven Assault

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According to reports, the latest incident took place during a medication run. During this time, an unidentified Sergeant as well as another corrections officer observed and monitored inmates. Both took notice of a particular inmate who had in his possession, a pen.

Officers ordered for the inmate to turn the pen over, which the inmate refused. This would lead officers to order the individual submit to a "pat and frisk" as officers now had reason to check for the possibility of other contraband.

It was at this moment that the situation escalated and the inmate in question ran away from the officers. Officers gave chase, one of them (the sergeant) succeeding in catching the inmate. A report goes on to state that the sergeant forced the altercation to the ground where he attempted to gain control of the inmate. It was during this struggle that the inmate used the same pen to stab the officer in the hand before attempting dispose of the weapon.

Shortly after, additional personnel arrived and assisted in subduing the inmate. With the situation now under control, the inmate was handcuffed and later following a medical evaluation, taken and placed into a SHU or Special Housing Unit.

Both the sergeant as well as the officer in the situation received their own medical evaluations following the events. The officer received the minor puncture wounds to both his finger and knuckle, while the sergeant had pain and swelling in his knees, both however remained on the job after treatment.

Recent History at Green Haven

According to a report from News 12:Westchester, the inmate at the center of this latest incident, is a 38-year old male who is serving a sentence of 19 years to life. Previously, this same inmate served two other stints in prison in both 2006 and 2014. No other information has been released regarding the inmates identity.

Incidents like this have been all to frequent recently at Green Haven. The recent violence reached a critical point this passed October, when a so called "Day of Violence" broke out at the facility. This 24-hour period saw numerous instances play out and would require the entire facility be placed in lockdown.

The lockdown itself would last for a number of days and during that time officials began their investigation of the events which included a full top-to-bottom search of the facility. Events from the lockdown lingered though, as just recently multiple inmates filed multiple different lawsuits against new York State for alleged instances of how they were treated. You may read our full coverage of that story below.

Continue Reading: Green Haven Inmates File Lawsuits Against New York State 

The current prison system in New York is also in a state of flux, which doesn't make current issues easier to deal with. New York State is currently deliberating over which and how many state prisons will be closed. Just because prisons close, does not mean the inmates simply go free.

Presumably, inmates at prisons that close will be transferred to other facilities, meaning that corrections officers across the state could soon have much more to deal with in the near future.

Joe Horacek, the Mid-Hudson Regional VP of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association had much to say regarding the current issues at hand with New York State's prison system and violence that has been seen in the facilities. In part he stated...

...The current state of the prison system is not sustainable and Right Sizing the system is not a solution.