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People work in dangerous occupations every day in the United States. There are few riskier jobs to take than Police Officer, Corrections Officer or Prison Guard. When people in these dangerous professions are injured on the job, they may be eligible for financial compensation and medical benefits.

Workers' Compensation for a Police Officer Injury or Injury to a Correctional Officer

Police Officers, Correction Officers and Prison Guards face many dangers in the line of duty. They work in some of the most dangerous settings in America. When a Law Enforcement or Corrections Officer suffers an injury, they deserve workers' compensation just like anyone else. Workers' compensation is available to help people who were injured on the job. It can provide medical treatments, money to cover lost wages, monies to compensate for a permanent disability, and other benefits.

If you are a Corrections Officer, you have a tough job that can at times be very dangerous. It is good to know that, if you are injured on the job, you are entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits.

It is also good to know that, if your rights are challenged, an experienced Worker's Compensation Attorney is available to protect your rights.

Worker's Compensation Attorneys protect the rights of injured Correction Officers.  Attempt to obtain an Attorney from a Law Firm whose entire focus is on Workers' Compensation.  They will know the law, the rules and regulations and the people involved in the workers' comp system.

Find a Law Firm that only represents injured workers.

• Dealing with fights between inmates can result in an injury to the Corrections Officer.  Fault is typically never an issue  in workers' comp cases. If you were injured in the course of your work, you are covered.
• Lifting, turning quickly and other actions can cause an injury that may not be immediately noticed, but it is an injury that can be covered if it happened at work.
• If your employer and the insurance company want you to come back to work before you are fully healed, ask a Lawyer about your rights.  As a Corrections Officer, you need to be in peak condition to be effective at your job.  You need to protect YOURSELF and protect your CO-WORKERS and other inmates.

If you are injured on the job, notify your Supervisor, seek medical assistance, document the incident immediately (your Jail Log for example) AND complete an Injury Report in a timely manner.  If your incident is caught on a surveillance camera, ensure a copy is made for your future Worker's Compensation Court hearings.

The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. - Two Orange County jailers were injured while foiling an escape attempt early Friday, authorities said.

During a fight with the escapees, Officer Jay Gruner received a fractured elbow and separated shoulder, and Officer David Bynum suffered neck pain and minor lacerations.

Overview of Injuries to Prison Guards,    
 Correctional and Police Officers

Prison Guards, like Correctional and Police Officers, have some of the most important and dangerous jobs in our country. These professionals are charged with the monitoring and safety of hundreds of incarcerated individuals. Some of the inmates that Prison Guards are tasked with supervising represent the most dangerous of criminal minds in our citizenry, many of whom have injured or killed a person and represent a very real danger to our society at large.

It is no wonder that maintaining order in institutions that are full of inmates with little to lose can be a dangerous proposition. Injuries to prison staff happen every day. Prison Guards across our Nation that are injured on the job can recover monies under Workers Compensation laws that can provide medical treatments, cover lost wages, and compensate for permanent disability or long-term medical care.

Like any workplace, prisons have their natural hazards. Premises liability issues like slip and falls or unsafe working environments can result in serious Prison Guard injury. The inmate population itself, however, poses the greatest threat. Many of the inmates in prisons are hardened criminals, some sentenced to life behind bars. With nothing to lose, many of these inmates are bent on little more than waging chaos within the institutions walls. They thrive on the prospect of harming those who are charged to supervise them, crafting weapons from everyday objects and looking for opportunities to attack prison staff and cause injury. Some prison inmates will also harm or kill anyone in an effort to escape from the jails that hold them, putting armed Prison Guards at very real risk of attack, especially by a group of inmates who outnumber them.

All workplaces have a duty to provide a safe and hazard-free working environment for their employees. Prisons are not exempt from this law; in fact, in some ways, they are held to a very particular standard because of the inherent danger of prison staff work. Slip and falls due to hazardous work areas and injuries due to the handling and use of weapons that Prison Guards must use are two examples of prison injuries that can occur.

The most obvious and common form of on the job prison injury for Prison Guards is injury at the hands of prison inmates. The criminals that are housed in the walls of prisons are among the most dangerous individuals in society. Many of them are career felons whose main skills in life deal in the art of assaulting other individuals. These inmates are constantly seeking an opportunity to enforce their will or inflict injury on prison guard staff.

Some of the most common injuries that can occur to Correctional Officers while on the job, include:

• Injury due to prisoner attack
• Being stabbed by homemade weaponry
• Injuries during escape attempts
• Injury during prison riots or unrest
• "Friendly fire" injuries at the hands of other prison guards
• Becoming ill as a result of exposure to diseased inmates

No matter what the injury, Correctional Officers have a right, under the law, to recover monies as compensation for their injuries.  If you are a Prison Guard or Corrections Officer who has been injured on the job, contact an experienced Workers Compensation Attorney for a consultation of your case. These Attorneys can help defend your rights and insure that if you qualify, you receive the compensation you deserve.

This is only one example of the types of injuries a Prison Guard can suffer from during the course of employment. In this example, the Prison Guard was exposed to an infectious disease and became ill. Due to the nature of staph infections, there is a potential for recurring infections over the course of several years. Not all injuries are so long lasting, however. Other types of injuries that Prison Guard's may suffer from include:

• Stab wounds
• Gunshot wounds
• Broken limbs
• Head trauma
• Injury due to exposure to hazardous materials on site
• Injury due to exposure to infectious diseases
• Injury from fire or explosions

Regardless of the type of injury you have suffered during the course of duty in a Prison or Correctional Facility, you have a right under the law to obtain compensation for lost wages or medical and hospital expenses. Prison work acts as one of the most dangerous and most important of all jobs in our society. Most of our State's Legislatures recognize the perils of this occupation and has instituted several statutes that apply specifically to Corrections Officers who are injured on the job. These statutes are not easily navigated, however, which is why you need help from a skilled injury attorney with the experience and aptitude to fight for compensation under the law and defend your rights.

At its heart, Workers Compensation is, regardless of the state, a system of insurance that, by law, your employer is required to carry in the case an employee is injured on the job, becomes ill due to circumstances surrounding their job, or even if death results from their job. Benefits can include medical expenses, lost wages and death benefits. Workers' Compensation exists both as a way to benefit injured workers and as a way to protect employers.

Most States defines it's Workers Compensation Act as:

"An act defining the liability of an employer to pay damages for injuries received by an employee in the course of employment; establishing an elective schedule of compensation; providing procedure for the determination of liability and compensation thereunder; and prescribing penalties".

Any injury that occurs during the course of employment is covered by the Workers' Compensation Act. Injuries that occur to certain public servants, including Police, Firemen, Corrections Officers and Prison Guards fall under the umbrella of The Heart & Lung Act. This special law is a direct response to legislature recognition that having the occupation of a Prison Guard is inherently dangerous. Most State's Legislation provides benefits for Law Enforcement Officials who are injured on the job.

Many different types of injuries are covered under Workers Compensation laws. In addition to injuries that occur on the job, injuries that occur while traveling on business, doing a work-related errand, attending a required business-related social function, or even while on a break or using restroom facilities are all covered under Workers' Compensation. Often, the type of position or work you perform dictates the types of injuries that you might suffer.

Some Corrections Officers/Prison Guard injuries that are covered under Workers Compensation are:

• Broken bones
• Knee pain/injuries
• Back pain/injuries
• Shoulder pain/injuries
• Stab and/or gunshot wounds
• Exposure to dangerous chemicals
• Exposure to infectious diseases
• Burn injuries
• Heart attack
• Hypertension

The process of filing a Workers' Compensation claim can be confusing, but individuals do have the right to be represented by an attorney for their work-related injuries. An experienced Workers Compensation Attorney will help ensure that all of your rights are protected and your benefits under the law are secured. If you have been injured while on the job, and feel you have a Workers Compensation claim, do NOT hesitate to contact an Attorney immediately for a free evaluation of your case.

The job of Prison Guards and Correctional Officers is to supervise, care for, and secure the inmates in their prison. This job is made more difficult by constant jail overcrowding.

As the number of inmates continues to increase, while the number of available cells and beds remains the same, a guard's job becomes increasingly more complicated. Inmate fights and collusion amongst inmates who might plot to harm other groups of inmates or prison staff all increase as the prison population increases.

Also making a Prison Guard's job much more difficult is the attitude and mentality of the average inmate. Very often, they are bent on little more then creating unsafe situations and turning order into chaos. Many inmates are masters at inflicting damage and pain on others and are constantly looking for opportunities under which they may gain the upper hand over corrections officers. Inmates attacking Prison Guards, or groups of inmates plotting organized ambushes on unsuspecting guards is not uncommon. The inmates can use brute force to achieve their goals, or they can craft dangerous weapons often called 'shanks' from everyday items in their possession. Some common jailhouse weapons are crafted from items like:

• toothbrushes
• spoons and other flatware
• broom stick handles
• socks with heavy items in them (like soap, dominoes)
• pens or pencils sharpened to a razor point
• wood from walls shaved to points
• mattress wires
• hot liquids

With so many weapons at their disposal and an entire culture based on confrontation, it is no wonder that prison officials have some of the most dangerous jobs in America. If you are a Prison Guard or Jail Correctional Officer and have suffered injuries from an inmate attack, it is important that you contact an attorney to help defend your rights. Suffering attacks and injuries should not be in anyone's job description, and if it is found that the prison has put their employees into preventable and unneeded dangerous situations, the prison can be held liable for your injuries. It is especially important that all Prison Guard/Jail Corrections Officer's injuries be looked at by outside investigators to make certain that other prison employees are not subject to the same dangerous situations and in turn injured as well.

Overcrowded jails and inmates with an eagerness for destruction can be a prison guard's worst nightmare. When large groups of inmates begin to fight at the same time, or even worse, organize attacks on prison staff, what's called a 'prison riot' can ensue. Prison riots can involve fighting, destruction, fires, and much worse, resulting in injury to not only inmates, but Prison Guards alike. They can also cause significant damage to the jail facility itself.

With the emergence of jail-yard gangs and cliques across ethnic lines sprouting up in jails all across America, our prison system is the most vulnerable it has been in awhile. For the first time, large groups of dangerous felons are becoming organized, like-minded, and focused on the same goals. Those goals can be anything from conducting an attack on other prison gangs, to attacks on Prison Guards, to attempts at escape. Large numbers of inmates, in orchestrated attacks, seize the opportunity to wreak chaos, often setting fire to items and trashing their own jail cells, and temporarily taking control of certain areas of a prison.

In the middle of this chaotic setting and charged with restoring order is the Correctional Officer/Prison Guard. Their job is to assess the situation and risk life and limb in an attempt to subdue angry groups of prisoners and break up fights; all the while protecting his or her body from being attacked and overcome. Severely outnumbered and with limited means, prison guards put their lives at risk whenever they set foot in a prison yard where a fight has broken out. Other prisoners use the opportunity of having temporarily distracted prison officials to carry out their own nefarious actions, further complicating an already dangerous situation.

Injury Due to Escape Attempts

For some inmates, prison is just a temporary stop on the road to rehabilitation, one that they will not repeat and likely never forget. However, for some of our society's worst, most hardened criminals, jail sentences are lengthy and the institutionalization becomes a way of life. The worst of these offenders, those sentenced to life in prison with little possibility for parole, dream of little else but escaping from the walls and bars that imprison them. Escape attempts in prison can seem like a viable option to these inmates. With little regard for the lives of others, they plot to find the best way to breach the order and security of the prison in an attempt to gain freedom. While the methods of attempting escape may be varied, one constant remains; it is the job of the Prison Guard to stop these escapes, and they must risk their lives to do so.

Very often, prisoners attempting escape will account for prison guards who may try to stop them and will be prepared to confront them with weapons. Also, a common goal of prisoners in these situations is to overpower Prison Guards and take their weapons from them. In instances where inmates are able to secure firearms, the result is almost always loss of life, be it the inmate acquiring the firearm, or the prison staff that the inmate may take hostage (or open fire upon).

Unsafe Working Conditions


Unsafe prison workplaces are common in that they are inherently unsafe. There is a certain amount of risk involved for any individual who takes on the responsibility of being employed as a Corrections Officer or Prison Guard. But prisons have a duty, as all employers do, to ensure that the areas that their employees work everyday are free from unnecessary hazards and generally safe. This responsibility, it can be argued, extends in prison settings to include forcing prison staff to interact with dangerous inmates more than is completely necessary and ensuring that security measures that are in place are sufficient to protect their employees.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act states that every working American has the right to a safe and healthy work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the federal agency created to enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA standards of safe working environments for all types of employment extend to correctional facilities.

Undue Risk

The most common injury to prison staff occurs because Prison Guards and other Correctional Officers are put into dangerous situations unnecessarily. All contact between inmates and prison staff is limited. At times when inmates are out of their cells, it is important that all safety procedures are followed to make sure that the inmates are guarded properly at all times. Having too many inmates out of their cells at one time, mistakenly giving them access to unauthorized areas, or putting them in closed quarters with unarmed prison staff personnel could all be situations in which injuries to prison employees can occur.

Allowing inmates access to restricted materials, including contraband from outside of prison walls, can also put prison workers at very serious risk. Household cleaning and kitchen supplies, for instance, can be used to make powerful poisons that can incapacitate and/or injure a Prison Guard. For this reason, materials such as these must be cataloged and restricted at all times.

Defective Prison Security Measures

Prisons are high security facilities. All of the rules and regulations inside of prison walls are designed with the safety of prison staff and inmates in mind. Most security procedures have been crafted over the course of many years, being altered to account for the types of scenarios that Prison Guards and inmates could likely face. As prisoners invent new ways to fashion weapons and create dangerous situations for prison staff and other inmates, it is important that security guidelines alter as well, to account for these changes. When they do not, the results can be disastrous.

'Lockdown' procedures and treatment of certain types of inmates also needs to be taken into account. Some inmates with medical conditions have a propensity to spit or expose prison personnel to dangerous bodily fluids. Other inmates have fixations with fire or other dangerous chemicals and cannot be treated with the same precautions as other inmates. The identification of these inmates who need to be handled with special care and the approved procedures with which they are to be dealt with are two variables that the prison system must account for. Failing to do so can be viewed as the prison not providing a safe work environment for their employees.

Fort Madison prison guard recovering after inmate attack

Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010  

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a prison guard at the Iowa State Penitentiary is recovering after being attacked by an inmate.

TYPICAL "STRATEGIES" FOR YOUR EMPLOYER TO STOP WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFITS

Yes....unfortunately it is "YOU" against "THEM"

Some injured workers claims are readily accepted and some must be litigated, but there will come a time in almost every claim when workers' compensation benefits will stop. When injured workers are receiving workers' compensation wage loss benefits, there are only a limited number of ways in which an employer or its insurance carrier can seek to reduce or modify those benefits. "What happens after an IME?", "What is the IME capability of a claimant?", "What is the impact of an IME on a claimant?", or "Will an IME interrupt the flow of a workers comp claim after a medical examination or evaluation?", this article will review these aspects of the workers comp process after an IME and discuss some of those strategies.

Firstly, it is important to realize that claimants' wage loss (also called "indemnity") benefits are calculated as a function of their pre-injury average weekly wage. In general, the idea behind the Workers' Compensation Act is that if the claimant cannot earn his or her pre-injury wages as a result of the work injury, the claimant is entitled to either total disability benefits or partial disability benefits. Employers and their insurers have an interest in cutting off or reducing those benefits. That process typically starts with a medical exam so that the employer can assess the claimant's medical restrictions. This exam is commonly referred to as an Independent Medical Exam, or IME, or a Defense Medical Exam, or DME. It has generally been accepted that an employer is entitled to a physical examination every six months, although there are circumstances in which the injured worker can challenge the reasonableness or the frequency of an examination.

Typically the IME doctor will release the claimant to return to some kind of work. If the doctor gives the opinion that the claimant's injury has ceased entirely and the claimant can return to full duty, the employer will likely file a Termination Petition seeking an Order from a Workers' Compensation Judge. If the employer is successful in terminating a claimant's benefits, then both wage loss benefits and medical benefits will be stopped.

If the IME doctor says that the employee's injury has not completely healed, but that the employee can return to modified duty work, then the employer will seek to file a Modification or Suspension Petition. Both of these petitions seek to change wage loss benefits only, as all treatment which is reasonable, necessary, and related to the continuing injury will still be paid for by the workers' compensation insurance carrier. A suspension is appropriate when the injured workers' earnings are no longer affected by the work injury. For instance, if after receiving the IME report the employer offers the injured worker a light duty job which falls within the restrictions of the IME doctor, the burden then shifts to the claimant to either try the job or explain why he cannot do the job in good faith. This scenario is frequently played out in workers' comp courtrooms, where the IME doctor has an opinion as to what the injured worker can do, but the worker's own treating doctor has a very different opinion, and the judge must decide which doctor is to be believed. Even if the injured worker would make less than her pre-injury wages by working light duty, the employer can still be entitled to a modification of the worker's wage loss benefits - this is referred to as "partial disability," meaning that wage loss benefits will continue, but at a reduced rate, and only for a maximum of 500 weeks.

Often the time-of-injury employer cannot accommodate the light duty restrictions of the IME doctor, and therefore cannot offer the injured worker a job. There are two other common strategies used by these employers to seek to reduce the workers' wage loss benefits. One is to find the worker a job which accommodates the restrictions with a different company altogether. Another is to have the claimant undergo a vocational interview, to assess the claimant's residual earning capacity, taking into account the claimant's age, work history, medical restrictions, and skills. This is called an Earning Power Assessment. The vocational expert can then perform a labor market survey to determine whether there are any jobs in the local economy which are appropriate for and actually available to the injured worker. If so, the employer can file a petition with the Workers' Compensation Bureau to seek to modify or suspend the injured worker's benefits based on the earnings the worker might be able to earn at the jobs identified by the vocational expert.

It is important to know that in most instances a claimant who is receiving benefits cannot simply be "cut off" by any of these "strategies". The flow of a Workers' Compensation Claim after a medical exam can take many different paths, but the majority of those paths require litigation and the order of a Workers' Compensation Judge before the employer or its insurance carrier can simply stop or modify the claimant's benefits. This article is by no means an exhaustive list of the ways in which an employer can reduce an employee's benefits, nor does it seek to discuss the many and varied defenses which a claimant might have in order to preserve his or her benefits. Any injured worker or employer with questions about these issues is well-advised to consult with experienced workers' compensation counsel.

Fulton Jail was properly staffed when inmate stabbed Guard

Atlanta News 4:04 p.m. Monday, August 9, 2010
By Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
 
Officials said the Fulton County Jail was adequately staffed Sunday night when an inmate attacked a guard, stabbing him in the side. 

Staffing shortages have  been an on-going problem at the jail, despite a federal court order mandating minimum numbers. Officials say in this case, however, the jail had enough people working.

     Inmate Slashes Corrections Officer's  Throat, Stabs Second in Cheek

SHIRLEY, MA – A housing unit at the state’s maximum security prison is in lockdown after an inmate assaulted four correction officers last night, according to a Department of Correction official.

One correction officer was slashed in the throat and another sustained a stab wound on his cheek after an inmate became enraged because he was assigned to double bunk with another prisoner in an orientation housing unit at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, said Steve Kenneway, president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union.  DOC spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said an inmate being released from his cell for “tier” or free time assaulted two correction officers at about 8:10 p.m. with a homemade weapon.

She said the inmate assaulted two more correction officers while he was being moved from the housing unit after the first violent outburst. She declined to name the prisoner and said the officers’ injuries were non-life threatening. The four correction officers were treated at the prison and then later taken to a hospital for further treatment, Wiffin said. A spokeswoman for HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominister said the officers were treated and released.

Two Multnomah County Sheriff's Deputies assaulted by jail inmate




Two Multnomah County Sheriff's deputies were attacked and injured by a 40-year-old man at the Justice Center Jail this morning.

Officials said the man was upset because he couldn't get anyone to accept a collect call.

During the booking procedure, Lande complained to Dep. Dawn Hathaway because no one he knew would accept a collect call.

Lindstrand said Lande, who appeared calm, returned to the seating area, and then ran up a stairway into Hathaway's work station, where he grabbed her hair and repeatedly struck her in the head and face.

Another deputy who came to Hathaway's aid suffered broken fingers as he tried to stop the attack. Lande was finally subdued after he was shot with a Taser.

"It was completely unprovoked,''Lindstrand said. "He would not let go of Hathaway's hair until he was Tasered."

Hathaway and the other deputy were treated at the hospital for their injuries and released.

Lande was booked into the jail on the original harassment charge, and faces accusations of two counts of assault on a public safety officer, and three counts of fourth-degree assault. Bail was set at $17,500.

Warning explicit photos! - Officer assaulted with a knife

Inmate assaults Officer at Niagra County Jail

The Tonawanda News Oct 09, 2010

 
Iesha Spencer was charged with felony assault after attacking a corrections officer at the Niagara County Jail.

— — A Niagara County Jail inmate was charged Wednesday after she reportedly assaulted a female corrections officer on Monday.

Iesha M. Spencer, 19, of Ninth Street, Niagara Falls, was charged with felony second-degree assault.

A report said Spencer grabbed the officer around the throat, and punched her in the head and back.

The defendant was held in the Niagara County Jail after she was charged in connection with a Niagara Falls burglary in May and fled to Georgia.

She pleaded not guilty to second-degree burglary, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny and third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property in August.

Bail was set at $100,000 after she fled to Atlanta and missed a Niagara Falls court appearance.

Spencer was arraigned in Lockport Town Court on Friday morning for the jail assault, where bail was set at $5,000 for that charge.

Did you know that research indicates 1/3 of active-duty and retired officers suffer from post traumatic stress, and most don't even realize it?

                www.tearsofacop.com

Jail nurse in Martinez badly hurt in inmate attack          

An inmate at the Contra Costa County jail faked a seizure and hit a nurse in the head with a lamp, badly injuring her, authorities said Tuesday.

The nurse was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek with severe head trauma, authorities said. Her name has not been released.

The incident at the Martinez jail happened at about 4:10 p.m. Monday when the inmate, burglary suspect Aaron Nygaard, 34, of El Cerrito showed signs that he was suffering a seizure, said Jimmy Lee, a sheriff's department spokesman.

The nurse went to see Nygaard, who told her that he had faked the seizure "because he did not want to be in a particular waiting room" in the jail's intake area, Lee said.

Then, without warning, Nygaard picked up a lamp and hit the nurse in the head, knocking her unconscious, authorities said. When deputies rushed to her aid, the suspect swung the lamp at them, Lee said.

Deputies used a Taser shock weapon, but Nygaard "violently resisted and continued to fight," Lee said. He was ultimately restrained and sedated.

El Cerrito police had booked Nygaard at the jail at 9 a.m. Monday. He had no criminal history, Sheriff Warren Rupf said.

"There's nothing obvious that would have raised a red flag," said Rupf, who expressed anger that "this knucklehead attacked a good person who was trying to help."

Nygaard was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. His bail was set at more than $1 million.

The nurse is a longtime employee with Contra Costa County Health Services, which provides medical care at the jail under a contract with the sheriff's office.

"We are deeply troubled by this event," said Anna Roth, CEO of the county's Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and Health Centers. "We have not had an event like this in this facility."

** An unfortunate and sad update on Jail Nurse ** 


Nurse attacked by inmate dies from injuries.

MARTINEZ, Calif. -- A nurse who was attacked by an inmate at the Contra Costa County jail in Martinez on Monday died from her injuries at a local hospital today, according to the Contra Costa County coroner's office.

Officer Loses Tooth To Angry Inmate

From Staff Reports

October 27, 2010

A Creek County corrections officer loses a tooth while preparing a prisoner at the Creek County Jail.

Paul Matthews is currently wearing a temporary tooth since being hit by Katy J. Rasberry while he was attempting to take her handcuffs off, according to a sheriff’s department incident report.

Rasberry was brought in by OHP on several alcohol-related charges. Her demeanor was chaotic as she was verbally offensive to Matthews and the other officers present. She wanted to know the whereabouts of her daughter. Matthews told her he did not know where the daughter was, which caused Rasberry to become even more agitated, the report states.

Matthews decided to place her in an isolation cell until she calmed down. While leaning down to unlock the handcuffs, she swung both of her arms in an upward motion striking the officer in the mouth and knocking loose a front tooth. The tooth could not be saved.

Kalamazoo Inmates Attack Guards

January 25, 2008

KALAMAZOO (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - More problems at the Kalamazoo County Jail. Three jail guards are hurt by inmates.

Jail officials have argued for years but now that the jail is overcrowded the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department frequently releases inmates early. But, efforts to win support for a new jail have come up short time after time.

Deputies were moving an inmate into a more secure location within the jail. That's when the the 6'1”, 230 pound inmate didn't want to go. The inmate went after a guard, in what the jail administrator says could have been a life or death situation.

"The inmate was on top of the deputy, attempting to choke him. That level of aggression doesn't occur all the time,” said the Kalamazoo County Jail Administrator, Capt. Tom Shull.

Thankfully, in this situation other deputies were there to help within seconds. One officer suffered a broken hand and another a significant injury to the knee.

They're expected to be off of work for a while. Thursday, another inmate had to be treated at the hospital for an ankle injury from another fight with an inmate. Both inmates are now facing new felony charges because of the attacks on the officers.

Inmate Attacks Custody Deputy In County Jail

KEYT Anchor

Inmate stabs 2 guards

October 8, 2010
By Francis Scarcella The Daily Item

LEWISBURG — Two guards were stabbed, one of them in the abdomen, by an inmate during a routine inspection of a cell Friday at the U.S. Federal Penitentiary at Lewisburg.

While their injuries were reported to be non-life threatening, according to prison spokesman Andrew Ciollo, the attack comes on the heels of reported security concerns at penitentiary.

The assault took place around 9:30 a.m. after the guards searching cells, Ciollo said.

As guards were trying to handcuff the inmate through a slot in the door, the prisoner used a shank to attack them.

The guards, who have not been identified, were treated at Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, for slash wounds to their hands. One  suffered a penetration wound to the abdomen.

Friday’s attack comes fewer than two weeks after the Lewisburg Prison Project and the correctional officers union raised concerns about security at the penitentiary. Advocates described how similar attacks at the penitentiary in recent months have occurred during the same process — as inmates are unshackled.

The Lewisburg Prison Project — a staff and inmate advocacy group — said three inmates have been killed and at least one correctional officer was seriously injured in the past year.

Board member Angela Trop said one inmate who wrote the group summed up his fear succinctly: “A single cell would be cheaper than what they’ve spent in hospital bills and funerals.”

Ciollo insists the facility is safe and reiterated those remarks Friday.

“It’s prison,” Ciollo said. “Incidents do occur and unfortunately this is one of those times.”

Trop disagrees with Ciollo and blames rising violence on inadequate staffing, policies and procedures to maintain the special management unit that houses about 1,000 inmates who posed behavioral problems at other federal prisons across the country and need to be held in a more restricted environment.

Although inmates in the special unit at Lewisburg are considered the worst in the federal system, they are still held in two-man cells for 23 hours a day without television and may not refuse a cell mate.

The inmate who carried out Friday’s attack was housed alone.

“There is no reason to why he was alone,” Ciollo said. “It was just by chance that he was celled alone.”

The FBI is investigating Friday’s stabbing. Calls seeking comment on the number of active investigations focused on violence at the penitentiary were not returned Friday afternoon.

By James Clark
KCBD11.com
October 30, 2010

BROWNFIELD, TX (KCBD) - An inmate tried to escape from the Terry County Jail Saturday night at about 9:00 PM.  Sheriff Larry Gilbreath says the inmate was David Rodriguez.  If that name sounds familiar it's because Rodriguez made news back in June when he and another inmate successfully escaped from the same jail.  Rodriguez, 35 years old at the time, was captured two days later in a house in Brownfield.

As for Saturday's incident, "It was an attempted escape," said Gilbreath.  "He never got out of the building." 

However, the attempt was not totally harmless.  Gilbreath says Rodriguez assaulted a jailer, who was taken to the Brownfield Regional Hospital emergency room with a back injury.

"You could tell by the way he was acting, he needed to be checked out."

Gilbreath was not sure of the extent of the jailer's injuries Saturday night and indicated he might have an update Sunday.

DPS in Lubbock says officers were sent to assist but the inmate was already in custody by the time state troopers arrived.  Gilbreath says Texas Rangers will be requested to conduct an investigation.

Contra Costa jail nurse's slaying raises questions

Cynthia Palomata worked for 15 years as a nurse at San Francisco General Hospital  until she injured her back while lifting a patient. After a disability leave, Palomata took a job as a nurse treating inmates at Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez, a move that alarmed her relatives.

Palomata reassured her family, saying, "It's not dangerous, because we have security around all the time," according to her aunt, Venus Dioso, 80, of San Francisco.

Now, Dioso is mourning the loss of Palomata, 55, of El Sobrante, who was removed from life support Thursday, three days after she was hit in the head with a lamp, allegedly by a burglary suspect who faked a seizure. The attack at the Martinez jail happened even as sheriff's deputies were on duty nearby.

Palomata's slaying was the second involving a medical worker in the Bay Area in a week. On Oct. 23, Donna Gross, a 54-year-old psychiatric technician from Concord, was robbed and strangled at Napa State Hospital, allegedly by a mentally ill patient.

The California Nurses Association says legislation is required to better protect health care workers at the state's jails. The union said a 1993 California law requires hospitals to have a security plan in place, but does not mandate the same protection in correctional facilities.

"We can no longer tolerate inadequate security measures which threaten not only RNs and other staff, but also put families and other patients at risk," said Kay McVay, president emeritus of the union.

State Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward, has agreed to introduce a bill on behalf of nurses as early as December, said union spokeswoman Liz Jacobs.

In similar fashion, the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians said it is working with the state Department of Mental Health, which oversees Napa State Hospital, to "prevent another tragedy in our state facilities."

At a news conference last week, Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren Rupf said he recognized the public's concern over safety in light of the two killings. But he said there had been no signs that the man accused of killing Palomata, Aaron Nygaard, 34, of El Cerrito would lash out so violently.

Nygaard had been arrested for allegedly breaking into a home on Kearney Street in El Cerrito. He went through the inmate screening process without incident and then faked a seizure, which prompted Palomata to rush to his aid, authorities said.

Nygaard then grabbed a lamp - brought into the jail by nurses to help them read paperwork - and hit her in the head, knocking her unconscious, Rupf said. Palomata died Thursday at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. Nygaard, who has no criminal history, faces a murder charge.

Palomata, a married mother of a grown son, joined the county's health services department in 2005 and had worked since then at the Martinez jail.

"She was a well-respected member of our nursing staff," said Dr. William Walker, director of Contra Costa Health Services. "Staff safety is the highest priority, and we continue to work closely with the sheriff's office to evaluate safety procedures."

County inmate gets prison for guard assault

By York News-Times Staff

October 20, 2010

WKRN.com
November 8, 2010

COLUMBIA, Tenn. – A Maury County inmate arrested last week is facing criminal exposure to HIV, among other charges, after the sheriff's office said he spit in a detention officer's face.

Last week, Maury County Sheriff Enoch George told News 2 Jerry Wayne Thomason, 41, tried to assault a Columbia police officer and resisted arrest before being transported to the Maury County jail.

Upon arriving at the facility, Sheriff George said Thomason's aggressive behavior continued.

"A correction officer made contact with him, he was so irate and so he allegedly spit on my officer," the sheriff explained.  "My understanding is he spit in his face."

According to police documents, Thomason was charged with aggravated assault and criminal exposure to HIV.

Sheriff George explained, "We're going to have our correction officer tested and treat him as if he came in contact with someone who did have a disease."

The sheriff's office said while the incident is rare, it's something taken very seriously.

"People come in, irate, and just absolutely show out sometimes.  In my opinion, I think that's what's happened here," Sheriff George said.

In recent years, Thomason has been in the Maury County jail 23 times, charged with crimes ranging from shoplifting to drugs.

He remains behind bars on a $35,500 bond.

2 guards stabbed at southern Kentucky prison

November 9, 2010

PINE KNOT, Ky. (AP) — An inmate at a federal prison in southern Kentucky has stabbed two guards.

Ed Ross, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., said Tuesday that the incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Monday at the McCreary United States Penitentiary in Pine Knot, just north of the Tennessee border.

Ross said guards were conducting routine searches of inmates' cells when an inmate attacked them, causing stab wounds. Both guards were taken to area hospitals from which they were released after treatment.

The prison was placed on immediate lockdown and all inmates have been accounted for.

Ross said the prison is secure and there is no danger to the public.

Inmate accused of kicking guard in face

By Jesse Garza of the Journal Sentinel
October 21, 2010

A Milwaukee County Jail inmate charged with brutally assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Kletzsch Park faced additional charges Thursday after he was accused of kicking a corrections officer in the face.

Demond Carter, 19, already charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child, physical abuse of a child and enticement of a child to sexual contact, now could be charged with battery, according to a news release from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

Guards were attempting to move Carter from his cell to a disciplinary cell when he became combative, according to the release.

The injured male officer, 36, was trying to hold Carter's legs when Carter pulled one of his feet loose and kicked the guard in the face.

The officer was treated for a laceration to an eyelid at a hospital and released, the sheriff's office said.

Carter is accused of sexually assaulting the girl in the park and beating her with a piece of wood on July 14.

The girl suffered severe lacerations to her head and ear, a swollen eye and several bruises. One head injury required five staples to close, according to a criminal complaint.

Jail officer injured in scuffle with offender

By Stan Maddux
For The News-Dispatch

Correctional officer injured in altercation at County Jail

The Tribune
SanLuisObispo.com
July 3, 2010

A Correctional Officer was hospitalized Saturday evening after he was reportedly assaulted while booking a man at County Jail.

Thomas B. Hines, 20, a transient, allegedly became agitated as he was being booked about 6:10 p.m. on unrelated misdemeanor charges of defrauding an innkeeper and illegal possession of an alcoholic beverage.

Man stabs Officer, himself at Midwest City Jail

June 9, 2011
Matt Patterson
newsok.com

A man being booked into the Midwest City jail on a complaint of obtaining drugs with a forged prescription stabbed himself and an officer during an altercation Thursday afternoon.

MIDWEST CITY – A man arrested on a complaint of attempting to obtain drugs with a forged prescription stabbed himself and an officer at the Midwest City jail, police said.

Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said Nathaniel Lee Jones, 40, of Oklahoma City was arrested about 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the CVS Pharmacy at 6951 SE 15 after he gave a pharmacist a forged prescription.

Jones was arrested without incident at the store, but once at the jail he removed a knife from his waistband and began to struggle with an officer. During the struggle Jones stabbed officer Jarvis Nash in the right forearm, then stabbed himself in the neck, Clabes said.

A panic alarm was pushed and several jailers helped restrain Jones with a taser. He was taken to a nearby hospital but his condition was unknown, Clabes said.

Nash was treated for his wound and was not seriously injured, Clabes said.

“This is another example of the extreme dangers law enforcement faces on a daily basis and we are very fortunate officer Nash, other officers, and the jailers were able to disarm Jones before any other injuries or a possible death occurred,” Clabes said.

Clabes said the incident will be reviewed to identify any policies or procedures that might need to be changed.