Second assault at Kamloops jail this week

KAMLOOPS – Emergency personnel were on scene at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre for an inmate assault this morning, June 24.

Dean Purdy, chair of the corrections and sheriffs services component of the B.C. Government and Service Employee’s Union, says an ambulance and fire truck arrived at the jail this morning.

“The inmate-on-inmate violence occurs on a regular basis. It’s something that happens routinely and has become a part of a culture inside a jail. We’re trying to deal with the ongoing violence,” Purdy says, adding staff face complications because of an overcrowded inmate population.

This is the second incident at the centre this week. On Monday an inmate in general population assaulted a corrections officer who was later transported to Royal Inland Hospital. The injuries included multiple blows to the head and body. The officer was bitten on the arm, wrist and shoulder.

Purdy does not have an update on the condition of the inmate or the officer.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.