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Officer stabbed multiple times at maximum security prison in Shirley
After responding to a fight between inmates, the correction officer was stabbed in the head and back, officials say.
A correction officer was stabbed repeatedly Monday at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley.
At about 6 p.m., officers at the maximum security facility responded to an alarm regarding multiple inmates fighting. Once the officers arrived, some of those inmates immediately turned on the officers and assaulted them, according to the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union.
One inmate allegedly used a makeshift knife to stab an officer in the head and upper back multiple times. The officer took the inmate to the ground, but the inmate continued to stab the officer in the head and face, union officials said.
The inmates were quickly subdued, and officers regained control of the situation, according to the MCOFU.
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“Several” officers were injured during the incident. Two officers, including the one who was stabbed, were brought to local hospitals. Both suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. The officer who was stabbed was released late Monday night, MCOFU Legislative Representative Kevin Flanagan said.
In an interview, Flanagan referenced an attack that occurred last year at MCI-Shirley, a medium security facility around the corner from Souza-Baranowski.
Matthew Tidman, a correction officer, was monitoring a gym when he was attacked. Roy Booth, a convicted murderer, allegedly unscrewed a metal pole from a weightlifting apparatus and used it to attack Tidman.
“This is something that I’ve talked about extensively, even before officer Tidman was assaulted and almost killed. These assaults are all too common in our correctional facilities,” Flanagan said. “These are dangers that correctional officers face every single day at work. Just a few days ago we had an officer punched at MCI-Framingham in the face.”
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Multiple inmates filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging that they were subjected to retaliatory beatings by correction officers at Souza-Baranowski. A 2021 investigation from The Boston Globe Spotlight Team centered on various allegations of violence and misconduct inside the prison.
Flanagan said that he is worried about the possibility of a correction officer dying as the result of an attack.
“It seems like this is increasing, not just the assaults but the severity of these assaults, where someone is going to end up losing a life,” he said.
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