Five staff members at New Haven Correctional Center were injured Wednesday morning when an incarcerated individual allegedly assaulted them, with three seeking hospital treatment while two others were treated and stayed on the job. The attack happened around 9:15 a.m. in the facility's admitting and discharge property room, and it has reignited concerns about violence against correctional staff that have surfaced repeatedly across Connecticut this year.
According to the Hartford Courant, three of the injured staff members sought hospital treatment, while other staff members remained on duty at the facility. Department of Correction staff responded immediately and secured the incarcerated individual, the Courant reported, citing department spokesperson Andrius Banevicius.
The Department of Correction says it is reviewing what happened in an effort to reduce the chance of similar incidents recurring. The identity of the incarcerated individual has been withheld while the investigation remains active, the report notes.
Carlos Responds
Carlos pledged to ensure staff safety and committed to staff training.
Part of a Troubling Pattern
Wednesday's incident is not an isolated one. Just two weeks earlier, on October 13, two Connecticut correction officers were injured after an inmate they believed to be under the influence of drugs allegedly assaulted them, according to WTNH. The correction officers' union said in that case that officers face what it called a crisis-level influx of drugs and other contraband inside Connecticut's correctional facilities.
Earlier in the year, six correctional officers sustained injuries in an alleged attack by an inmate at Cheshire Correctional Institution in June, with four taken by facility vehicle to an area hospital and two remaining on duty, the Hartford Courant reported separately. In July, three staff members were injured and treated at an outside hospital after an alleged assault at Corrigan Correctional Institution in Montville, as reported by WTNH and another Hartford Courant report. A report from Corrections1 described one of those incidents as part of a recent string of violent episodes involving inmates and staffers across the state's prisons and jails.
Mental Health Data
The pattern tracks with broader data on staff assaults in Connecticut's prison system. The Connecticut Department of Correction documented 214 assaults on staff in the most recent fiscal year reviewed, the highest total in the previous five years, according to the Connecticut Mirror. Of the staff assaults recorded since 2021, 69% involved incarcerated people with mild, moderate or severe mental health issues, the outlet reported, citing DOC statistics.
No further details have been released about what prompted Wednesday's attack at New Haven Correctional Center or the condition of those hospitalized. The Department of Correction has not said when its review might conclude.
