August 2nd, 2014 by WCBC Radio
The Cumberland Times News reports a correctional officer who was beaten by an inmate at the Western Correctional Institution early Friday morning was treated and released from the hospital, according to Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Media Relations Manager Gerard Shields.
The 54-year-old sergeant was talking to inmate Juan Alston, 38, about his job performance in the kitchen area at 2:30 a.m., Shields said. Alston allegedly knocked the officer down and was on top of him striking him in the head and upper torso with a closed fist when another officer in the area intervened.
The officer, a 24-year veteran of corrections, was taken to the Western Maryland Regional Medical Center by ambulance.
Alston, who is serving a 60-year sentence for homicide, was transferred to the North Branch Correctional Institution. An investigation will determine whether administrative or criminal charges will be filed, Shields said.
“This situation is kind of unusual in that serious attacks on staff are down 60 percent over the last seven years,” Shields said.
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