4 officers injured in inmate attack at Cape Vincent prison, union says

TOWN OF CAPE VINCENT, New York (WWNY) - An inmate suspected to be high on drugs allegedly attacked an inmate and injured four officers at Cape Vincent Correctional Facility.

That’s according to the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents the officers.

NYSCOPBA says the attack happened on August 11.

According to the union, an officer assigned to one of the housing dorms observed the inmate, who was acting erratically, punch another inmate in the head. The inmate who was attacked sustained a head contusion and was treated at the infirmary.

The union said the aggressive inmate then struck the officer in the head three times. The officer suffered pain and swelling to his head and a thumb sprain.

Three officers, who helped subdue the inmate, sustained minor injuries. All four officers were treated by facility medical staff and remained on duty.

The union said a registered nurse at the infirmary determined the inmate was intoxicated on an unknown drug.

On the same day of the attack, staff recovered 19 orange strips of Suboxone in inmate mail. The drugs, which were discovered by an officer processing the mail, were hidden inside the battery compartment of a watch mailed to an inmate.

“Contraband continues to be a significant problem in all of our prisons. Yet, DOCCS continues to ignore the issue and refuses to re-install the Secure Vendor Program. There is no reasonable explanation that the administration can provide not to and that certainly shortchanges our members and puts their safety at risk. Four officers and an inmate were injured by an inmate high on drugs in the latest violence. Obviously the drugs found their way into his hands and created a potentially very dangerous situation,” said NYSCOPBA Central Region Vice President Bryan Hluska.