By Erik Cliburn
Columbia Daily Tribune
MOBERLY, Mo. — Three corrections officers were reportedly assaulted by inmates last week at the Moberly Correctional Center.
Offenders in one of the prison’s housing units reportedly damaged footlockers, video cameras and windows during the incident, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann.
The incident took place April 6 in one of the prison’s housing units after an offender was repeatedly banging on a door to unit’s rotunda. When a staff member opened the door, the inmate began assaulting him, punching in the head and face, Pojmann wrote.
Two other staff members responded to the situation and other inmates were involved in a “scuffle before the door was secured, she wrote. After the door was secured, inmates in the unit began throwing footlockers and other items, which damaged two windows and two security cameras.
Once control of the unit was regained, staff members identified the six inmates responsible for the incident and secured them, Pojmann wrote.
“Conduct violations were issued for this incident,” she said. “Any assault or property destruction may be referred for isolation.”
The staff members involved were examined by the prison’s medical team and treated for minor injuries, such as scratches, scrapes and bruises. None of the involved staff required outside medical attention, Pojmann wrote.
Any reasoning for the incident has not yet been determined, she said. The department’s investigation of the incident is ongoing.
Missouri Corrections Officers Association spokesman Tim Cutt did not respond to calls seeking comment as of Monday afternoon.
COVID-19
As of Monday afternoon, the Moberly prison had not recorded any confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or inmates, Pojmann said. So far, 41 inmates in Missouri, including four at the Moberly prison, have been tested for the virus.
One corrections officer in the state, who works at the Southeast Correctional Center, tested positive for coronavirus, but he did not have contact with inmates, she said.
Though Moberly prison staff have been tested for the virus, Pojmann said she did not know how many tests had been conducted.
All four inmate tests at the Moberly prison have come back negative, along with 34 other inmate tests statewide. One offender, who later died, tested positive after being admitted to a Kansas City area hospital. The inmate was admitted for unrelated medical issues before he tested positive, Pojmann. Before his death at the hospital, the inmate tested negative twice for coronavirus.
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