Prisons remain on partial lockdown following attacks on Minnesota corrections officers

Two Minnesota prisons remained on partial lockdown Wednesday following a surge of attacks by inmates on corrections officers last week, as officials try to get a handle on what happened and how future assaults could be prevented.

Seven officers were injured in total among three incidents, two attacks at Stillwater and one at the Oak Park Heights site, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said that while it's difficult to prevent random attacks like two of those that happened last week, it's important to find out what led the inmates to commit them.

"It is a small number of people committing these acts of violence, and I think it's incumbent on us to get a clear sense of what motivates people to do this, and then to take every step we can to try and reduce the risk to the people who work in these prisons and, frankly, the others who live in them," Schnell said.

In the most recent clash last Thursday morning, a Stillwater inmate ran up unprovoked and began striking a corrections sergeant in the face before other officers stopped the attack, the department said in a news release. The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment.

On Monday that week, three Stillwater officers were injured, allegedly assaulted by inmates after trying to break up a fight, the department said.

And on Tuesday at Oak Park Heights prison, two inmates were alleged to have assaulted a sergeant and two officers. This attack was also unprovoked, Schnell said. One officer was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital for treatment before being released, and two were evaluated at a hospital and released.

Also last week, assault charges were filed in a January attack in which an Oak Park Heights inmate allegedly punched an officer and permanently blinded her in one eye.

Both Stillwater and Oak Park Heights were in facilitywide lockdowns for much of last week, but by early this week the lockdowns were reduced to just the living areas where the attacks occurred. Schnell said he would visit the prisons this week to speak with inmates about what happened and how they could prevent future similar incidents.

The harm of lockdowns

The full lockdowns meant those prisons were reduced to the most limited possible movement for out-of-cell programs, and all regular classes and programs were put on hold.

While the lockdowns allow officials the space to investigate, they are harmful to the many inmates who are serious about improving themselves and are forced to miss programs that give structure to their day, Schnell said.

"Effectively what happens in these settings is they get held to account for the sins of another, and that's always been a challenge," Schnell said last week.

The lockdowns also significantly reduce the amount of time inmates can use a phone to talk with family and other loved ones. Schnell noted that frequent phone communication is beneficial to inmates and has been shown to reduce recidivism.

According to a 2020 Arizona State University study, inmates were found to have higher-quality relationships with their children with frequent phone and mail communication.

Assaults on staff trending upward

The number of discipline convictions for inmate assaults on prison staff in Minnesota has fluctuated over the past six years, but it has trended upward recently.

After recording 180 convictions for assaults on staff in the 2020 fiscal year, there were 217 in 2021 and 210 in 2022. It's worth noting the department's annual reports added categories for assaulting staff with bodily fluids starting in 2020, which added 38 assaults that year and 46 in 2022.

The number of assaults that caused bodily harm to a staff member, however, were at a six-year high in 2022. There were 45 such assault convictions in the 2022 fiscal year, up from 24 in 2020.

Schnell said the annual assault data includes a wide variety of offenses — everything from lower-level incidents, such as shoving or spitting at someone, to more violent crimes.

Often staffing shortages are brought up as a possible cause for attacks on officers, but Schnell said it doesn't appear that having more staff would have prevented the three recent attacks.

In 2023, there were 1,980 security staff employed at Minnesota prisons, up by 10 over 2022. However, Schnell said that the department has struggled with attracting and retaining staff.

Before 2022 the number of security staff members fluctuated, with 1,844 in 2019, 2,013 in 2020, and 1,995 in 2021.

The murder of corrections officer Joseph Gomm in 2018 also heightened the overall community awareness of and concern for the dangers of the profession, Schnell added. That led to a variety of safety improvements, including security camera upgrades and expansions, bolstering staff in areas deemed high-risk, and more.

Corrections is also seeking funding through the Legislature for body-worn cameras throughout its facilities; staff wellness and support; and staff training and professional development, according to a department spokesperson.