3 inmates to be charged after attack on prison officers

Local News

A correctional officer was stabbed a dozen times by a 6-inch piece of metal sharpened to a point with a cloth-wrapped handle affixed, according to court documents.

Three inmates accused of assaulting multiple corrections officers at Massachusetts’ only maximum security prison now face charges, the state Department of Correction announced.

The three men, incarcerated at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster, were charged last Friday. Five correctional officers were hospitalized after the incident on Wednesday, September 18, a department spokesperson said.

Jose Crespo, 39, Heriberto Rivera-Negron, 36, and Jeffrey Tapia, 30, are each charged with mayhem, armed assault culminating in murder and assault culminating in murder. Each man will appear in court later in October.

“Attacks on our officers will not be tolerated and the serious charges against the three individuals demonstrate that the Massachusetts Department of Corrections will take action,” Acting DOC Commissioner Shawn Jenkins said in a statement. “This type of violence is unacceptable and now those involved will have to answer for their actions in court. »

Court documents: Police officer stabbed a dozen times

Around 6:20 p.m. on September 18, the DOC said, two police officers were stabbed multiple times by men incarcerated at SBCC, and three other officers were injured while responding to the incident.

Crespo allegedly stabbed the first officer with a “6-inch piece of metal sharpened to a point with a cloth-wrapped handle attached,” according to court filings. He punched the officer several times before stabbing him in the back multiple times while Tapia held the officer on the ground, according to the criminal complaint filed in Clinton District Court.

The struggle continued as two other officers responded, who disarmed and restrained Crespo. The complaint says Rivera-Negron then ran toward the assault and allegedly punched the first officer several times.

The co-pilot, who spent several days in the hospital in serious condition, had seven deep puncture wounds to his back, two puncture wounds to his neck, three to his shoulders and a laceration to his jaw, according to the complaint. The other police officers were slightly injured.

Reaction from the prison officers’ union

The incident was initially shared by the Massachusetts Federated Correctional Officers Union on Facebook, which claimed it had been four years since the department “authorized the use of tactical units and conducted a thorough, statewide search.” ‘establishment’.

“ENOUGH!” »wrote the union at the time. “How much longer do our members have to endure before you decide to ensure their safety? The inmates literally run the asylum. Do your job.

In a statement, the leaders said they were “stunned, appalled and angry at the level of brutality” in a video they shared of the assault. Court documents say the entire incident was captured on surveillance video.

Last month, the union told the Boston Herald that dozens of “homemade sharpened weapons” were found inside Souza-Baranowski. After the September 18 attacks, union leaders said they had “warned the DOC about something like this.”

Last week, MCOFU said DOC was not doing enough to keep officers safe. They claimed a search at SBCC was launched but was not completed before another police officer was attacked on Thursday.

The DOC did not respond to a request for comment on these claims Sunday evening.

After the charges against the inmates were announced, the union said it was “grateful” to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.

“We demand that DOC take action to make prisons safer by eliminating deadly weapons and drugs that are too prevalent in our system,” the MCOFU statement said. “Our goal remains the safety of everyone in the prison system, including our brothers and sisters at MCOFU. »