ENFIELD, CT – MAY 03: A sign stands in front of Cybulski Rehabilitation Center, which includes the military Veterans Unit on May 3, 2016 in Enfield, Connecticut. The Veterans Unit houses some 110 prisoners, all U.S. military veterans convicted of crimes ranging from petty larceny to murder, all with typically less than two years left on their sentences. The unit is part of a Connecticut Department of Correction program to turn some prisons into reintegration centers to prepare inmates for successful re-entry into society. Criminal justice and prison reforms are taking hold with bi-partisan support nationwide in an effort to reduce prison populations and recidivism. The state’s criminal justice reforms fall under Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy’s “Second Chance Society” legislation. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
State police have arrested a correction officer at MacDougal-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield who is accused of hitting an inmate.
Christopher Carlson, 32, has been charged with third-degree assault.
He denies the allegations, according to the arrest warrant.
The 15-page arrest warrant says the charge stems from an incident at MacDougal-Walker Correctional Institution on Aug. 12 after inmates got into a fight.
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A correction officer had called a “code blue“ because of the fight, which led to several members of the correctional staff responding and inmates being ordered back to their cells.
When prison staff went to get an inmate who was suspected of being involved to take him to the restrictive housing unit, he started to cover his cell window with a piece of paper and refused to remove it, according to the police documents.
Staff then used a chemical agent known as Cell Buster and removed the inmate from the cell.
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As they were taking the inmate from the cell, he fell, several correctional staff fell as well and the inmate’s left eye was injured during a struggle, the warrant says.
Witnesses reported that the inmate was injured when a correctional officer, later identified as Carlson, hit him in the face while he “was defenseless on the ground,” the warrant says.
Carlson was placed on administrative leave and an investigation was done.
He told investigators that the inmate became agitated and said, “I’m going to kill you” and pulled away from staff during the incident.
Then the inmate fell and the staff members fell with him.
When Carlson went to help, the inmate elbowed him in the temple, the warrant says, and Carlson tried to get the inmate’s arm under control.
In video from moments before he was taken to UConn’s hospital, the inmate could be heard accusing staff of “stomping his face,” the warrant states.
The inmate would tell investigators that he was agitated and cursing at staff, but never made any direct threats.
He also said he was referring to the other inmate he was fighting with when he said something like, “I’m going to kill you,” according to the arrest warrant.
The inmate went on to say he was not resisting the correctional officers, but they forced him to the floor, "maced" him and punched him in the face, the warrant says.
During the investigation, several inmates and prison staff members reported that the inmate was injured when a correctional officer repeatedly struck him in the face and some identified Carlson as the one responsible, according to the warrant.
Carlson told investigators that he had no idea where the inmate’s injury came from, but assumed it happened when the inmate’s face hit the concrete floor as staff secured him.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to the union and the correctional officer union released the following statement:
“AFSCME Local 391 supports our members’ right to due process. We will wait for the investigative process to be completed.”
We also reached out to the state Department of Correction for comment.
Carlson turned himself in on Wednesday afternoon and his bond was set at $3,000.
He is due in court on July 12.
