‘I am surprised no one got seriously hurt’: union responds to disturbance at P.A. Correctional
A disturbance at the men’s jail in Prince Albert Monday highlights the risky job correctional officers face on a day-to-day basis, according to a spokesperson for the union that represents them.
Verne Larson, Legal Inspection and Regulatory Component Chair with the Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU), told paNOW the incident started around 2 p.m. and over the course of five hours, involved over a dozen inmates who broke a number of windows and started at least one fire.
“There is water damage to the building and there is a hole in the roof. I’m not sure how the hole in the roof got to be, perhaps from attacking the fire,” he said.
To assist the correctional officers on duty, both the Prince Albert Police Service and an emergency response team from Saskatoon were called in. Larson said two staff members suffered minor injuries during the incident.