Five corrections officers at the Greene Correctional Facility, a medium-security state prison in Coxsackie, have been placed on leave amid allegations that they forced inmates to fight one another, according to a story in today's Times Union.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which is handling an investigation into the issue, declined to give any details to Times Union reporter Brendan Lyons, but the paper dug up some more information from an unnamed source:
A person briefed on the matter, but not authorized to comment publicly, said the officers are alleged to have encouraged the fights in a special housing unit, known as "S-200." The allegations are that the officers in some instances opened the cell doors of inmates who were then attacked by other inmates, according to the person familiar with the investigation.
That person, and also an investigator familiar with the allegations but not involved in the case, said inmates have also alleged that officers placed plastic bags over the heads of some inmates to intimidate them against filing complaints or reporting the fights.
