Former CO says prison attack video illustrates statewide safety concerns

TOWN OF FINE, New York (WWNY) - A former corrections officer is speaking out after seeing a video of a 2022 incident where he was permanently injured on the job at Upstate Correctional Facility near Malone.

James Tanner says it’s an example of the kind of thing COs want the state to take more seriously.

He comes from a law enforcement family.

“I knew that’s what I was gonna do,” Tanner said. “Then this happened.”

“This” happened in April 2022. His career as a corrections officer was cut short after two years on the job.

Video captured by a camera at Upstate Correctional Facility shows the violent altercation between two inmates and three COs.

Tanner is hit from behind, falls to the ground and strikes his head, which he says caused a traumatic brain injury and changed his life forever.

“I’m 100% on worker’s comp. I can’t do anything else, like I said, for me to get a job, it’s hard. This incident took a lot from me,” he said.

Tanner says it’s altered parts of his personality, making him feel more aggressive and even causing him to lash out in his sleep.

“I wake up and I can just feel my hand hit the pillow sometimes and my wife’s sleeping right there,” he said.

He says incidents of violence like this are common, especially in maximum security prisons like Upstate.

In this particular instance, he says an inmate was being escorted to a classroom when they reached toward the mask they were wearing.

“To us, they’re reaching for a weapon. He reached up, pulled his mask down and looked like he was going right into his mouth like he was gonna pull something out of his cheek,” said Tanner.

Tanner says the CO with the inmate reacted, thinking it might turn violent, quickly another inmate jumped in, leading to what’s shown in the video.

He says he wants people to see the video because it illustrates the safety concerns COs want the state to address.

According to a NYSCOPBA news release from April 2022, three COs were hospitalized after the incident, Tanner with a head injury and neck strain, another CO with a broken nose and strained neck, and a third with a cut lip and multiple abrasions.

Three others had minor injuries and returned to work.

The inmates were placed in special housing units pending disciplinary charges.

We reached out to the state Department of Corrections to learn more but have not heard back.

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