A Wednesday assault against an Anchorage Jail correctional officer by an inmate is under investigation by Alaska State Troopers.
Correctional officers at the jail on East 4th Avenue responded Wednesday around 1 p.m. to an inmate who was disruptive with medical staff, according to a Friday trooper's dispatch.
“The inmate initially complied with verbal commands but then spun around quickly and punched one of the male correctional officers in the face, resulting in an injury to the nose and mouth,” troopers wrote.
AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen declined to name the correctional officer, but troopers wrote that he was treated and released at an Anchorage hospital.
Few details are available regarding what happened because the inmate has not been charged, Ipsen said.
Alaska Department of Corrections spokesperson Kaci Schroeder declined to discuss the case Friday.
“We’re not going to do anything to jeopardize (the) investigation,” Schroeder said.
Assaults against prison guards have recently been disputed between DOC and the Alaska Correctional Officers Association, a union representing correctional officers.
The state and the union clashed on staffing levels at DOC facilities in August, with the union running a full-page newspaper ad predicting officers would be injured or killed unless changes were made.
In September, the department said two guards at the jail were injured after a mentally ill and intoxicated inmate flooded a toilet in his cell.
Brad Wilson, the union's business manager, could not provide comment Friday.