The Latest: Union calls for more Minnesota prison officers | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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The Latest: Union calls for more Minnesota prison officers

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Latest on the Minnesota union representing corrections employees demanding more staff (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

The union representing Minnesota corrections employees is calling for more prison officers and changes to inmate discipline rules following a prison guard's death last month.

Union President John Hillyard says statewide worker shortages are leading to more attacks on officers and unsafe conditions for other workers.

The union is also asking for changes to policies when inmates attack a prison employee.

The Department of Corrections says a review indicates the need for 150 more officers across facilities in Minnesota.

Officer Joseph Gomm died of blunt force injuries after an inmate allegedly attacked him at the Stillwater state prison. Corrections officials confirm Gomm was the only officer supervising inmates taking vocational classes that teach welding and other skills.

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9:50 a.m.

The union representing Minnesota corrections employees is set to demand workplace changes after a prison guard's death last month.

Joseph Gomm died of blunt force injuries after an inmate allegedly attacked him at the state's prison in Stillwater. AFSCME Council 5 says it will call for staffing and inmate discipline changes Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities say 42-year-old inmate Edward Muhammad Johnson is suspected of attacking Gomm, who was 45, with a weapon. Johnson has been serving time on a nearly 29-year murder sentence from 2002. Prosecutors have not yet charged him.

The union has previously said that prisons are understaffed and officers are unequipped for the job.

Thousands of people attended Gomm's funeral last week.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018
The Associated Press

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