Graphic footage obtained by The Daily Wire appears to showcase how violent New York prisons have become for inmates, correctional officers, and other workers since the Democrat-backed HALT Act took effect in 2022.
A source, who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution, leaked the alleged footage from Green Haven Correctional Facility, wishing to expose how dangerous conditions are as 15,000 correctional officers and sergeants across the state remain on strike.
“I send this footage to you to help the public understand what it is we face and why we are on strike,” the source said. “This is not about money. It’s about how the liberal agenda has destroyed our justice system.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the strike began on February 17, with officers asking for the HALT Act to be repealed and to have other safety measures put into place, including stopping mandated shifts that officers say can sometimes last days at a time.
The footage, the source said, “shows staff at Green Haven Correctional Facility being attacked and inmates assaulting, even slashing each other’s faces.”
The video opens up with an inmate slicing the face of a woman who went to the prison to visit the inmate, according to the anonymous source.
Additionally, footage starting at the 02:09:00 mark appears to show the fatal stabbing of 30-year-old inmate Jarrett Frost, The Daily Wire was told. The incident took place in June 2022, months after the HALT Act took effect.
“HALT has stripped us of our ability to incentivize good behavior among the inmate population and deter them from attacking us,” the source added. “We have been deprived of our authority to control the inmates that we are charged to supervise, are swallowing our pride, and losing our souls in the process.”
Another segment seems to show a male inmate, who is leaving a shower, being attacked by another inmate. He’s seen violently seizing on the ground, and The Daily Wire is told the victim suffered brain trauma.
“It’s just the tip of the iceberg,” the source said of the footage.
The Daily Wire reached out to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) for comment on Thursday, but has yet to receive a response.
Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul (NY) during a press conference on Tuesday repeatedly denigrated officers for going on strike, saying that she doesn’t know what officers want from her and blaming them for current safety risks. The governor also confirmed that she’s making legal moves to have striking officers arrested.
“Has anyone been arrested?” a reporter asked the governor, to which Hochul responded, “The proceedings have started. I think we have 380 people on the first list through the attorney general’s office and they’re being served by state police as we speak. This is in violation of law.”
The governor suggested that she had state troopers serve papers with the threat of arrest to striking officers as a scare tactic, but since they didn’t back down, she’d continue down the path to having these officers arrested “in batches.”
During the presser, the governor brought up Marcos Gonzalez Soler, who serves as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, for more details on the legal proceedings. He suggested all 15,000 would be addressed legally if need be.
“We will go to catch every single one of them until they’ve returned to work,” Gonzalez Soler told the media.
A source told The Daily Wire that Hochul’s administration has been using “scare tactics” to try to get officers back to work.
“Hochul has been aggressive with her scare tactics, having administrative personnel call staff at home, ordering them to return to work,” the source said. “Even those on sick leave, worker’s compensation leave, pre-approved vacation time, and bereavement leave are receiving these phone calls; being told that if they fail to report that they would be considered AWOL, docked two days pay for each shift missed and lose their health insurance.”
“Many of us cannot afford to lose our jobs and health insurance, many of us live paycheck to paycheck,” they continued. “But in spite of this fact, we cannot continue to face the long mandated hours in violent, unsafe prisons.”
“We are losing our families and missing our children grow,” they said. “We spend long hours in a horrific environment that destroys our empathy and then we are expected to act normal and hide the nightmare from our families.”
Related: Hochul Presser Spirals With Arrest Threats For Striking Officers: ‘Catch Every Single One Of Them’