Herald receives DOC public records

After correction officers were seriously injured and attacked by inmates in high-profile incidents, new data from the Department of Correction sheds light on the “violence and brutality” inside state prisons.

More than 150 correction officers were injured while on duty in the first seven months of the year, according to stats from DOC that the Herald received through a public records request.

More than 50 officers were exposed to toxic substances, and more than 30 officers faced assaults from bodily fluids, such as inmates throwing feces and urine at them.

A disproportionate number of incidents have been reported at the maximum-security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, where inmates recently attacked and stabbed correction officers. Five guards were injured during that inmate assault.

Of the 156 injured correction officers across Massachusetts facilities through the end of July, more than 55% of the officers — 87 guards — were hurt at Souza-Baranowski.

Also, out of the 53 total drug exposures, nearly 80% — 42 officers — were exposed to toxic substances at the maximum-security prison in northern central Massachusetts.

And of the 34 total incidents involving bodily fluids, more than 85% — 29 officers — were assaulted at Souza-Baranowski.

The correction officers’ union has been pushing for more security measures at prisons across the Bay State, especially at the maximum-security facility. This new data on injured and exposed officers only reinforces those safety calls.

“It’s a different beast in there (Souza-Baranowski),” Corey Scafidi, who’s on the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union Executive Board, told the Herald.

“There’s a different level of inmates, and violence and brutality inside that place, and it can’t be run the same way as medium-security prisons,” he said, later adding, “Particular attention needs to be paid on adjusting the security measures, and having more regular searches of cells for weapons and drugs.”

The Herald filed a public records request to DOC back in July in the wake of an MCI-Shirley correction officer being exposed to a synthetic cannabinoid and knocked unconscious, ending up in the hospital. The officer was later told that he was given Narcan four times, and he had multiple seizures.

Following that incident, the Herald asked for the data on the number of Massachusetts correction officers who have been injured while on duty so far this year, broken down by facility.

After Souza-Baranowski’s 87 injured correction officers, the facility with the second most reported injuries was MCI-Norfolk with 19 guards hurt. MCI-Norfolk is the largest medium-security level facility in the state.

Next was Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater with 17 injured correction officers. The center is a medium- and minimum-security facility focused on mental health.

MCI-Shirley, where that high-profile drug exposure incident happened, had 15 injured correction officers.

Out of the total 156 injured guards across Massachusetts facilities, 79 of the officers (50%) were out of work due to the reported injury. Then 63 of those 79 injured officers returned to work, DOC reported.

“It’s difficult for many officers to come back to that environment,” Scafidi said. “Officers don’t feel well supported in there.

“It’s the physical injuries they need to recover from, and there’s also the mental toll on them,” he added. “Much more emphasis needs to be placed on taking care of officers who’ve been assaulted.”