Guard at prison with door lock issues stabbed by inmate

A corrections officer at a prison west of Phoenix with ongoing cell door lock issues has been stabbed in the chest by an inmate.

Department of Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder says the officer attacked Wednesday was conscious and his injuries apparently weren’t life-threatening. The attack appears unrelated to the door lock issues.

The attack happened in one of three Lewis prison units where door locks have been an ongoing problem since last year. Officials first used metal pins to secure the doors, then began padlocking cells after inmates tampered with the pins.

Wilder says the inmate was being taken for medical treatment and didn’t use a door pin as a weapon.

The prison guards’ union says an inmate died last year and two officers were beaten because of bad locks.