Wildcat Strike at 25 State Prisons Leads Hochul to Ready National Guard
Wildcat Strike at 25 State Prisons Leads Hochul to Ready National Guard
State correction officers are upset over lack of staff and proposed reforms that would make it harder to discipline detainees.
Hundreds of state correction officers at more than two dozen upstate prisons went on a wildcat strike Tuesday, forcing Gov. Kathy Hochul to prepare to deploy members of the New York National Guard to replace them if the walkout extends into Wednesday.
Officers picketed outside 25 facilities as of Tuesday afternoon according to media reports and Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The walkout comes as multiple state correction officers are expected to be criminally charged for their roles in the fatal beating of a handcuffed detainee on Dec. 10, according to the Albany Times Union.
In a beating caught on body cameras, Robert Brooks, 43, was kicked and punched by guards who held him down on a medical bed at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County. New York Attorney General Letitia James on Dec. 27 released footage of four officers at the scene who didn’t realize the cameras were recording. At least three sergeants and a nurse were also present during the beatdown, the videos show.
