A supervisor of the Gradignan penitentiary center, near Bordeaux (Gironde), was violently attacked by an inmate on Tuesday around 11:25 a.m., according to the Ufap union (Autonomous Federal Penitentiary Union).
“Coming to settle a refusal to transfer a cell to the sixth floor of building A”, the supervisor was “seized and violently thrown […] before getting boxed,” the union wrote in a statement.
The overseer got his face punched with both fists
“At first, the room attendant reported the detainee’s refusal to welcome a third detainee, because he claimed to be at home in his cell”, specifies Ronan Roudaut, representative of Unsap. “An officer then intervened and the inmate took advantage of a moment of inattention to grab him by the neck and bang his head against the metal edge of the bed. The colleague fell to the ground groggy, the inmate then got on top of him and punched him with both fists…”
The intervention of prison staff brought the attacker under control. “Fortunately, we were able to intervene quickly and in large numbers. “The supervisor, “who lost a lot of blood in the attack”, was taken care of by the firefighters, and transferred to the hospital center. “After a series of medical examinations, he was released this Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. from the hospital, his face swollen and with various stitches. He is very shocked, and currently has ten days off. The assailant, a repeat offender, was taken into custody.
200% occupancy rate
“That’s a lot of assaults, because two weeks ago another officer was punched, and on Christmas Day another supervisor was assaulted on the third floor… We have a rate of occupancy of the penitentiary center which remains above 200%, and with a staff shortage, the situation is getting out of control, warns Ronan Roudaut. We can no longer manage the problems on a daily basis, and some cells even become deal points, because the inmates understand the situation well. »
A new penitentiary is due to open around mid-2024. “But now is the time to resolve the situation, because everything is hanging by a thread” worries the union representative.