Claude Cromie
Unarmed corrections officers mingle with murderers, rapists and other violent offenders. Injuries to guards are far more common than the general public realizes. To remain safe, corrections officers must be alert at all times, but even then, very bad stuff happens.
The fourth chapter of Escape from Dannemora looks at some frightful incidents from the prison’s past. Over the years, officers were slashed, stabbed, or struck with weapons fashioned from various objects and materials. Unfortunately, some of these altercations resulted in death for the officer involved. The first such incident occurred in 1861 with the death of Augustus Tyrannus Wright, the first Clinton (and New York State) prison guard to be killed in the line of duty.
