Six officers injured by inmates at Green Haven prison: union

Six corrections officers at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville suffered minor injuries Tuesday after being attacked by three inmates, according to a statement from the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association Inc.

“This was an extremely violent and volatile situation for all of our officers involved," said Mike Mazzella, vice president of NYSCOPBA Mid-Hudson Region, in the statement. "What started out as a medication run to the clinic turned out to be very dangerous for all of our officers when the three inmates attacked and hurt six officers."

A female officer was bringing inmates Charlie Scott, Dontavious Wiley and Gerald Howard, from a cell block in the maximum-security prison to get medication around 7:30 p.m., the union said.

Scott was "being very loud and disruptive in the hallway," and refused to calm down when the officer told him to, the union said. As she was trying to calm Scott down, Wiley and Howard "surrounded her. The officer ordered both inmates to back away but they refused. She ordered them a second time and they refused again," so she radioed for help.

A second corrections officer went into the clinic and tried to help her, the union added. "Wiley and Howard were in a threatening stance against both officers. Without provocation, (Howard) struck the second officer in the face."

Wiley "charged the female officer, grabbed her and they both fell to the ground," the union said. While on the ground, "Wiley struck the female officer in the face, as well as the second officer who had come to her aid. A third officer who had responded to the scene was grabbed by the arm and dragged to the ground by the inmate."

Efforts to restrain the inmates resulted in violent struggles, the union said.

All told, six officers were injured, two of whom were brought to the MidHudson Regional Hospital for treatment and did not return to duty. The other four were treated by the facility medical staff and remained on duty.

The inmates are facing internal disciplinary charges and NYSCOPBA hopes that the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision "will pursue criminal charges against" them, Mazzella said.

Howard, who is serving two years after a second-degree attempted weapons possession conviction, "had to be transported to an outside hospital for treatment and will be placed in a special housing unit when he returns," the union said.

Wiley, who is serving a 25-year-sentence for first-degree manslaughter, "continued to be combative and disruptive while officers brought him to a special housing unit," the union said. Officers searched Wiley and found a 6.5 inch plexi-glass shank hidden in his underwear, according to the union.

Scott, who is also serving 25 years for first-degree manslaughter, was placed in a special housing unit.

"We are very lucky that none of our officers sustained serious injuries but it easily could have turned out that way, especially after we learned on inmate was armed with a makeshift weapon," Mazzella said.

Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518 Twitter: @pojonschutzman