WARREN Jail guard recovering after attack

The man's injuries were minor, a hospital spokesperson said.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A guard at Trumbull Correctional Institution is recovering from injuries he suffered when attacked at work.
Gary Schultz, administrative assistant to TCI warden Julius Wilson, said the investigation of a scuffle Monday points at two inmates.
Schultz said a male corrections officer at the state prison was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries he sustained while searching an inmate cell.
He declined to name the guard pending an investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Officials from the union representing state corrections officers were on TCI premises Monday for an unrelated matter. They identified the guard as Robert Gordon but didn't have an age or address for the man.
A spokesman at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown confirmed Gordon was being treated for minor injuries Monday and was in stable condition. He was expected to be released Monday.
Not a big deal: An OSHP report was not available Monday afternoon, but patrol Lt. William Thompson said authorities think the matter is "nothing major."
Also Monday, members of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, which represents state corrections officers, were at TCI for a peaceful demonstration.
Mick Bradshaw, a union staff representative and corrections officer at the state prison in Mansfield, said the informational picket was set up to highlight contractual issues and the alleged violation of constitutional rights at state institutions.
James McElvain, a staff representative from the union's Columbus office, said 40-50 off-duty guards at TCI were on hand for the demonstration.
Bradshaw said a rash of inmate-to-staff assaults in the last year at TCI have not been made public.
Schultz said he's not aware of Bradshaw's claims and noted there were no such assaults at TCI during the first quarter of 2000.
He said more recent figures are not available.
Beef with others: "The issues [union representatives] are raising aren't confined to this institution," Schultz said, explaining the union is taking issue with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections as a whole.
Schultz said the warden doesn't have a local response for the departmentwide issue but is glad the demonstration went off without incident and didn't interfere with regular business.