FOLSOM – Officials at California State Prison-Sacramento (SAC) are investigating an assault by an inmate that sent one employee to the hospital.
At 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, April 21, correctional officers were conducting a clothed body search of inmate Tavis Thompson on the main exercise yard. One officer felt an item in Thompson’s sock, and asked him to identify the item. Thompson suddenly turned toward the officer and punched him in the face.
Support staff used physical force to bring Thompson to the ground. He landed on top of the officer and continued the attack. Two support officers subdued Thompson and placed him in handcuffs. Responding staff discovered an inmate-manufactured stabbing weapon hidden inside Thompson’s sock.
The officer was examined by SAC medical staff and transported to an outside hospital for treatment of contusions, abrasions, redness and swelling to his head and face. He was treated and released from the hospital the same day. Two responding officers reported minor injuries. Inmate Thompson was uninjured.
Thompson was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on June 30, 2004 from Imperial County to serve a 55-years-to-life sentence with the possibility of parole for assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon by a prisoner.
CSP-SAC, opened in 1986, is a maximum-security prison that houses nearly 2,400 general population inmates and employs about 1,700 people. The institution houses inmates serving long sentences and those who have proven to be management problems at other institutions. CSP-SAC also houses inmates requiring specialized mental health treatment.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2016
CONTACT: Lt. L.A. Quinn
(916) 294-3012
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