Union: Two Iowa State Penitentiary officers were ‘violently attacked’

At least one officer was hospitalized, the union said in a statement

Union officials reported Tuesday that two correctional officers at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison were “brutally attacked by an inmate during a routine procedure” on Monday.

At least one of the officers was taken to a hospital, according to a news release from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 61, the union that represents prison employees. The officers’ names were not released.

“These attacks are not isolated incidents, but represent a growing trend of violence in the state’s correctional facilities,” the union said.

The Iowa Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.

“Our correctional officers across the state of Iowa are working in dangerous conditions and with understaffing and under-resourced staff, and we are not seeing the leadership we need from the Governor’s office to address these issues,” Todd Copley, president of AFSCME Council 61, said in a statement.

An Anamosa prison correctional officer, Robert McFarland, and prison nurse Lorena Schulte were beaten to death with metal hammers by two inmates, Michael Dutcher and Thomas Woodard, during a failed escape attempt in 2021.

The families of both companies are suing the state and agency employees for negligence and wrongful death in Jones County District Court.

The union and state employees called for immediate action on these issues, citing staff shortages, poor security protocols and inadequate resources as “key factors contributing to the increasing violence in state prisons,” union officials said in a statement.

The union also issued a “call to action” to Iowa residents, urging Governor Kim Reynolds to “take immediate action to address this growing crisis.” “Without action, attacks and possible deaths are inevitable,” officials said.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; [email protected]