Indianaâs prison officials say a recent boost in starting pay for correctional officers has quickly increased the number of job applicants and nearly erased serious staffing shortages.
But some say an incident last month in Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, in which a correctional officer was killed and another wounded, might be the latest symptom of chronic understaffing in the stateâs prisons and lingering restrictions tied to those staff shortages, which have been compounded by the pandemic.
On Feb. 21, 57-year-old Lt. Eugene Lasco was stabbed to death by an inmate when he went to the rescue of 22-year-old Sgt. Padrick Schmitt, who had been attacked, Indianaâs Department of Correction said in a news release.