LANCASTER, MASS. (WHDH) - New video shows the moment a pair of inmates attacked a correction officer at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster earlier this week.
The video is taken from a surveillance camera inside the prison and shows an officer walking through a unit while several inmates sit at tables. One inmate is seen leaning in a doorway.
As the officer passes, the inmate in the doorway is seen striking him in the face. The officer struggles with the inmate before a second inmate runs across the room and joins in the attack. A second officer comes to the first officer’s aid as one of the inmates appears to repeatedly stab him. As the struggle continues, a third inmate is seen entering the fray.
The incident happened Wednesday afternoon and prompted an hourslong emergency response.
A spokesperson for the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said two officers were stabbed. Three other officers were injured and taken to area hospitals after intervening in the attack.
Officials from the union representing Massachusetts correction officers said one of the injured officers was stabbed 12 times in the back and the head. That officer remained in serious but stable condition as of Friday afternoon, according to a union spokesperson. All other officers had been released from hospitals.
The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union released the video of the attack on Friday and condemned the incident in an attached statement.
“The video shocks the conscience,” officials said.
Though union leaders said they were “stunned, appalled and angry with the level of brutality” seen in the video, they said they were not surprised.
“We have been warning the [state Department of Correction] of something like this,” Correction Officers Federated Union leaders said. “Our Officers are continuing to get hurt.”
“This horrifying video speaks for itself,” officials continued. “Change has to come, and it has to come swiftly.”
Officials lauded the bravery of officers who responded in this incident and called for a full security assessment of security related policies, procedures, and protocols in Massachusetts prisons.
Union officials also called for the creation of a committee of stakeholders “who have an interest in keeping everyone who comes inside the walls of a prison in Massachusetts safe.”
The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said it launched a comprehensive investigation into this incident. As of Thursday afternoon, state officials said they were also conducting a full security assessment.
The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said the inmates involved in this incident had already been transferred to other facilities in the Massachusetts prison system.
The state Department of Correction is conducting a criminal investigation alongside the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.
“Our correction officers perform an essential and difficult job,” said Interim Department of Correction Commissioner Shawn Jenkins. “Their safety is our top priority.”
“My thoughts are with the officers and their families at this time and the Department offers our full support to the officers as they recover from their injuries,” he later added. “Violence against DOC staff is unacceptable, and we will take the steps necessary to ensure those responsible are held accountable under the law.”
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