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While standing at her post at the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Corrections Officer Hannah Suite was approached by inmate Kamisha Raquel Thomas, 30, who threw a cup of liquid in her face before violently attacking the officer.
Thomas repeatedly struck Suite in the face, a spokesperson for the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said, but Suite was able to call for help on her radio while staving off the attack.
However, help was already on the way, in the form of several women who were locked up in the unit and came to Suite’s rescue, pulling Thomas off of the officer.
“I am grateful for the inmates who came to their aid of the corrections officer; it’s a testament to the respect the inmates had for Suite and there is a lot of good within the detention center,” St. Mary’s County Sheriff Steve Hall said.
“This incident illustrates what corrections officers deal with on a daily basis: the worst and the best of human behavior.”
Suite was taken to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment of abrasions, a laceration to her eyebrow, hematomas, and a possible concussion.
Hall visited Suite at her home over the weekend, where he awarded her the office’s Purple Heart Medal.
“Our Corrections staff are an integral part of the sheriff’s office. Day in and day out, they deal with those incarcerated at our Detention Rehabilitation Center,” he said. “They are the ‘silent line’ of security - you rarely see them, but they are working 24/7 to protect the community.
“This was a brutal assault on a corrections officer, and we are thankful that Hannah did not receive life threatening injuries. I am very proud of the way she stood her ground and refused to give up until help could arrive.”
Thomas was charged with multiple counts of assault and assault on a Department of Corrections employee.
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