A serious situation at the South West Detention Centre in Windsor this week.
According to the union representing workers at the facility, an officer at SWDC was attacked with a pencil on Thursday, March 14, around 9 a.m.
Katrina Digiacinto, president of 135 Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), says officers were in a unit where they approached an inmate to escort him out to the video booth for his video court hearing.
Upon leaving the cell, she says the inmate then attacked one of the officers with two pencils that had been fastened together.
"And was able to slash and stab his face. His cheek area as well as his neck, leaving stitches actually on both his cheek and his neck.," she said.
Digiacinto says EMS responded immediately to the officer who was escorted out by ambulance.
"He's stable, I talked to him today. He's feeling very sore, he did lose consciousness when he first got attacked in the unit but he's doing the best he can now."
She says the inmate has since been transferred.
Digiacinto added they've reviewed all the policies and procedures, and everything was followed, however across the province their ministry is exploring new ways of classifying inmates and it's not working.
"We're not using segregation as much as a discipline tool as much as we used to. It's led to an increase in staff assaults, essentially because there's minimal to no consequence for these inmates that decide to act violently either against officers or each other," she said.
She says that the inmate is expected to be charged.
"I believe they are charging him with attemped murder, and I fully agree with that. He has severe slashes, when I saw him, across his neck. And I'm sure it's quite close to the jugular. So, that situation could have ended way differently."
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General told AM800 they are aware that a staff member from the South West Detention Centre was injured.
They went on to say violence within provincial correctional facilities is unacceptable, the ministry has zero tolerance when it comes to assaults or threats against staff, and both the ministry and police have launched an investigation into the matter.
- with files from AM800's Dustin Coffman