SHIRLEY, MASS. (WHDH) - A correctional officer at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center is expected to be OK after being stabbed approximately ten times by an inmate, according to officials.
The officer’s union, the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union (MCOFU), said the stabbing happened Monday evening, after correctional officers were called to a fight between inmates.
During the response, the inmates reportedly started to attack correctional staff, with one inmate allegedly using a makeshift knife to stab an officer “approximately ten times” in the head and upper back.
“The officer was able to take the inmate to the ground where he continued being stabbed in the head and face,” union officials stated in a news release. “Officers were quick to subdue the inmates and gain control of the situation.”
According to the union, several responding officers were injured during the incident, with at least two being taken to hospitals.
Officials said the officer who was stabbed multiple times was later released, with all injured parties being “spared life threatening injuries” thanks to their training and quick response.
“He’s going to be out of work – he has some puncture wounds, some slices to his face and his head – he’s going to need some time to recover,” said Kevin Flanagan, Legislative Representative for MCOFU.
This was not the first violent attack behind bars in the area. Last summer, Matthew Tidman, a corrections officer at another state correctional facility nearby, was seriously hurt after another inmate hit him in the heat with a piece of gym equipment. Tidman survived and the inmate involved, 40-year-old Roy Booth, was charged with charges including armed assault with intent to murder.
Speaking this week, Flanagan told 7NEWS incidents like these happen too often, adding that he hopes more can be done to make sure those on the job are protected.
“We’re seeing this way too much and we need to start shifting gears away from inmate reforms and put in place correction officer reforms that help us do our job safely and securely,” Flanagan said.
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