LANCASTER – Tensions are running high inside and outside the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center, which remains on lockdown with increased security at the entrance. Wednesday night two corrections officers were brutally stabbed by inmates in a housing unit, and their union wants clarity, calling it a “hit.”
“They were going to try to kill this officer. Fortunately, he fought through it and now we’re fortunate that we don’t have another conversation right now,” said Vincent Ruziak, vice president of the Massachusetts Corrections Officers Federated Union.
Officer stabbed at least 12 times
One officer was stabbed at least 10 times in the back and remains hospitalized. Another officer who was stabbed in the head and back was treated and released, as were three other officers who responded to the attack.
The union says it’s an ongoing safety issue that requires immediate action to essentially clear the prison of weapons. “We’ve been asking for tactical units; the department has the resources to facilitate that and keep this prison safe for staff and inmates. It’s fallen on deaf ears lately,” said Dennis Martin, president of the Massachusetts Corrections Officers Federated Union.
70 weapons recently seized
It is unclear what weapons were used in the attack, but the union says prisoners are now given iPad-like tablets when they arrive, and has released photos it says show homemade weapons being made by breaking the tablets for their metal pieces. It says at least 70 weapons have been seized in the past three months.
Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union
Ruziak said morale at the facility is “very low, as it always is. It’s been like this for a while. These attacks continue.”
The Department of Corrections released a statement saying, “The Department has initiated an extensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances and is conducting a full safety assessment. The incarcerated men involved in this incident have been transferred to other DOC facilities.”
These officers say they are losing members out of concern that no one is looking out for their safety. “They want to be supported by management, the people who are supposed to care about them the most, and they’re not getting that,” Ruziak said.
