The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) is highlighting a string of incidents at Five Points Correctional Facility in Romulus spanning back to August.
According to NYSCOPBA, the first incident happened on August 28 during the evening meal period when three inmates began punching each other. They were ordered to stop but refused. Once additional staff arrived, OC spray was utilized, causing them to separate.
Two of the individuals complied with the staff and got on the ground to be handcuffed. The third remained combative until, after a struggle, he was able to be forced to the ground and handcuffed. Once all three were in cuffs, they were taken out of the mess hall for decontamination.
During a search of the mess hall, NYSCOPBA claims a plastic shank was found where one of the inmates had been on the floor. A review of security footage showed the weapon was discarded under a trash can prior to its discovery.
When staff were escorting one of the inmates back to his cell, he refused to enter, requiring staff to force him into the cell and onto the floor. This is when NYSCOPBA says the individual punched one officer in the face and bit two officers on the hand and fingers.
The inmate was then placed in handcuffs and leg restraints and brought to his feet; however, he refused to walk and had to be placed on a gurney. While on the gurney, NYSCOPBA says he continued to threaten the officers, including spitting on two of them, striking their eyes. A spit net was applied, and he was taken to a special housing unit.
After the ordeal, the sergeant was treated for a back injury while three officers were treated for shoulder, neck, and wrist injuries. All four remained on duty. The two officers who were bitten and the two who were spat upon were taken to Geneva General Hospital for further treatment after onsite medical staff deemed they sustained “significant exposure.”
Additionally, NYSCOPBA is highlighting nine other incidents that occurred in the past few months.
- Six makeshift weapons were uncovered during searches.
- Six inmate-on-inmate fights happened, with two inmates sustaining injuries consistent with being cut by a weapon.
- A sergeant was taken to the hospital after having urine thrown at his face through the recreation gate by an inmate who refused to return to his cell.
- Two female visitors were arrested for disorderly conduct after fighting in the visitors’ room. Staff had to separate them using OC spray.
- A male visitor was arrested after marijuana and two sheets of paper saturated with an unknown liquid were found on his person.
- One sergeant and five officers were injured after being attacked by an inmate who was being escorted to a special housing unit. Several officers were bitten, with the sergeant being taken to Thompson Medical Center because their skin was broken.
- In September, three inmates were revived using Narcan after apparent overdoses
- A struggle occurred after a convicted murderer fought with staff after they attempted to place him in a special housing unit. The inmate became compliant after leg restraints were applied.
- Two officers were injured after an inmate had barricaded himself inside his cell using his mattress and wouldn’t respond to staff. After several officers made their way into the cell to check on him, he struggled with the officers and attempted to assault them. After being brought under control and restrained, he spat in the face of one of the officers.
“The level of violence and other illegal activity at Five Points recently cannot be understated. The inmate on staff assaults, inmate on inmate violence, weapons and drugs recovered, and visitors being arrested attempting to smuggle drugs into inmates pushes
staff to the limit to be able to maintain control inside the prison, especially at the low staffing levels that exist. It might sound like a broken record to continually call for the State Legislature to amend the HALT Act immediately, but it is a record that we will continually sing regardless of their dismissive attitude to the violence and unsafe work environment that currently exists for both our members and the individuals that live there as well,” stated Kenny Gold, NYSCOPBA Western Region Vice President.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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