Battered Correctional Officer details account from being beaten unconscious by pair of inmates at North Country area prison

ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY- A North Country area correction officer is sharing his story after being beaten unconscious by a pair of inmates.

This development comes from the latest at WWNY-TV.

It was sometime shortly before 4:00 a.m. last Wednesday when CO Wade Carey confronted two inmates at the Gouverneur Correctional Facility.

It is reported the two inmates were out of their bunks and wandering around, despite being told to go back to bed.

When Carey witnessed the pair head into one of the bathrooms with what appeared to be pitchers of hooch, otherwise known as prison made booze, he went right in to confront them.

Orders were reportedly given for the hooch to be dumped. This is when things turned physical.

Carey tried to pat down one inmate, who reportedly resisted. Meanwhile, Carey claims the second inmate started pulling at him from behind.

Body worn camera footage confirms that Carey threw the first punch and he admitted to reporters in doing so, but he also stands firm in defending his actions and that he was not the one who started becoming combative.

When all was said and done, Carey was knocked unconscious and suffered injuries that include broken bones and bruises.

Prison safety for the guards, civilian staff and the inmates themselves has been under hot scrutiny for the last few years since the implementation of the HALT Act.

Advocates for the law say HALT was designed with ethical treatment for prisoners in mind, while prison guards and certain lawmakers continue rebutting how the act has only made New York prisons more unsafe.

An investigation into this case remains ongoing.

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