Staff members hurt in Coxsackie prison riot

Seven staff members are recovering, after being injured in a series of attacks at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility.

The correctional officers’ union tells NewsChannel 13 it all started when an inmate tried to smuggle food out of the mess hall.

After being told to get rid of the food, the union says the inmate became disruptive, then violently resisted when officers tried to subdue him.

While this was going on, other inmates reportedly attacked responding staff members.

The union says The HALT Act, which limits the amount of time inmates can spend in solitary confinement, is leading prisons to be more violent than ever before.

In all, one sergeant and six officers were injured. The union did not say if any inmates were hurt.