Garner Inmate Dies After Struggle

With Correction Officers

By Andrew Gorosko

An inmate at Garner Correctional Institution on Nunnawauk Road died Wednesday following a struggle with correction officers at the state’s high-security prison, state police said.

The inmate, Edward J. Henderson, 35, of Clinton, was incarcerated on an assault conviction.

Shortly after 11 am, state police were notified that an inmate was in “very grave condition” after an incident with correctional staff, said state police spokesman Sergeant J. Paul Vance.

State troopers and state police detectives responded to the prison to investigate.

“The preliminary investigation determined that correction officers were escorting the inmate when he became unruly and struggled with correction officers. The inmate was restrained by staff members and escorted into his cell,” according to Sgt Vance.

“The inmate became distressed shortly after his arrival into his cell. Medical personnel at the facility provided emergency care and the inmate was transported to the Danbury Hospital emergency room where he was pronounced dead. Correctional personnel sustained no injuries,” according to Sgt Vance.

A spokeswoman for the chief state’s medical examiner’s office said Thursday morning that an autopsy would be conducted that day to determine the exact manner and cause of Henderson’s death.

The state police investigation into the death is continuing and is expected to take several weeks to complete.

The state Department of Correction, which operates Garner, will conduct an internal affairs investigation into the incident.