An investigation is underway into an inmate's alleged attack on staff members at the Corrigan Correctional Center in Montville.
The State Department of Correction says an inmate allegedly attacked several staff members during a routine medical exam. Three of the correction officers went to a local hospital for treatment and evaluation.
A statement from AFSCME Council 4 says inmate Patrick Milner was threatening to break out of prison. When he was told he'd have to be put in restrictive housing for a time over his threats, the Union says he started the fight and punched staffers with the hardened cast on his hand before he could be restrained further.
Milner is serving a 12-year sentence after a crash that killed a Hartford mother in 2018.
Michael Vargo, the president of the AFSCME Corrections Employees Local #1565, which represents all of the corrections officers at Corrigan, says:
“These violent assaults on staff are becoming an all too frequent occurrence in every correctional institution across Connecticut; today is only the latest example. Just last month, at this same institution, a female Social Worker was forced to fight for her life to fend off a violent inmate who exposed himself and attempted to perpetrate a gruesome sexual assault. This violence is the direct result of decades of previous DOC ‘leadership’ that has prioritized political expediency over the safety of correctional staff. Our officers have spent years urging the Department of Correction to provide a safer working environment and the basic tools required to ensure that staff can go home to their families alive and uninjured at the end of their shift. Instead, the Department of Correction cuts corners, just to save a buck—and this is the consequence. Something needs to change.”
The Department of Correction offers a statement, as well.
“This incident serves as a stark reminder of the difficult and unpredictable environment the brave correctional and health services staff of this agency work in daily,” said Interim Commissioner Sharonda Carlos. “I pray for a swift recovery for the staff members that were injured”.
Connecticut State Police are investigating.
