(The Center Square) - A week after a King County Corrections Officer suffered minor injuries as an inmate attempted to stab staff members with a weapon made of broken tablet pieces, the Corrections Guild is calling on management to immediately intervene and implement policy changes.
The July 10 incident happened as corrections officers were attempting to move an inmate to Western State Hospital for court-ordered mental health treatment. The inmate had a "shank" made of broken glass and other pieces that came from a shattered electronic tablet device.
Less than 24 hours later, another inmate-made weapon was found during a cell search at the Seattle facility.
King County Corrections Guild President Dennis Folk told The Center Square, inmates were given tablets initially during COVID, so they could use them for accessing legal materials, making phone calls, watching movies, reading books and contacting family.
The devices, which are provided to inmates at no cost to them, have protective cases around them.
“But the case isn't enough to protect it, so it can still be shattered,” said Folk.
He explained that the internal components are then misused.
“There's a metal strip that's over the top of the battery," he said. "So, they're either taking the batteries out, and then they use the batteries so they can smoke or light their drugs, their meth or fentanyl, and they're arching off the batteries, or they're making tattoo guns.”
“Then they use the pieces from inside the tablet, or even the glass from the screen, and they're making weapons out of it. So, it's crazy to me that we just allow people to continue to break these and then we're not doing anything about it," he added.
Folk said they’ve been complaining about this for months, but management has not done enough to ensure staff members are safe.
“Initially when the policy got developed, the rule was that they could break up to three, and after the third one they broke, they wouldn't get another one," he said. "They redrafted the policy and they decided [tablet privileges are lost] after the first one. But they're continuing to give them over and over and over again.”
The guild emailed a statement to media outlets Thursday, including The Center Square.
“We are now forced to go public because this situation can no longer be ignored. These weapons are designed to injure or kill. Every day this issue is left unaddressed increases the risk that someone will suffer a life-threatening injury or die because of negligence and inaction,” noted the statement.
“I've sent two emails to management in the last week. And the only response that I've gotten back from management is that we will look into this…..I basically am giving them a demand of bargain on this. We’ve got to change policy," he said. "They're more concerned about allowing these guys to play games on these tablets or whatever they're doing.”
The Center Square reached out to the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention about the guild concerns and received a response from Noah Haglund, communications specialist with DAJD.
“The safety of our corrections officers, employees and the people in our custody is our highest priority. Any assault on staff or recovery of a weapon inside our facilities is taken seriously,” wrote Haglund.
“The tablet program has provided important benefits, including helping people in our custody stay connected with family, access legal resources, and participate in educational programming. Like any item in a correctional setting, however, tablets can be misused. We will continue working to reduce those risks while preserving the benefits that the program provides.”
The Center Square pressed Haglund about concerns that inmates are getting replacement tablets after intentionally shattering a device.
“Our policy allows us to restrict tablet privileges for violating department rules and to seek restitution for damaged equipment. In practice, we regularly restrict tablet privileges for residents who violate this policy,” said Haglund.
“All instances of damaged equipment are reviewed by staff to determine whether to restore tablet privileges if they have been revoked. However, if a broken table is used to make a weapon, this privilege will be lost permanently.”
Folk said if management doesn’t immediately change policy to prioritize the safety of staff, he’s worried something bad will happen.
“My fear is that we've been very fortunate that nobody's been seriously hurt, but it's coming.”
