Family searching for answers after man assaulted in prison

After watching the video, Lugo said she immediately called Garner. It turns out her nephew’s phone privileges had been taken away again for another incident. She demanded someone get her nephew on the phone. Lugo was able to talk to Hamlin earlier this week and said he seemed confused and more concerned about why she was calling than about himself. He had no idea the assault had made the news.

Lugo said she is appalled by the actions of the correction officers, but also the fact that no family was every contacted. The DOC did not respond to a request for comment about DOC protocols in the event of an inmate injury.

Officers charged

Correction officers Anthony Marlak, Patrick McGoldrick and Joshua Johnson all face charges of third-degree assault in connection Hamlin’s assault. The officers claim Hamlin made verbal threats against them, published reports show.

The assault led advocates for prison reform this week to call for better prison oversight and hiring of a ombudsman within the Connecticut Office of Governmental Accountability that could investigate complaints against the Department of Correction. The ombudsman position was one of stipulations in the 2022 Protect Act that established an independent advisory board charged with hiring the ombudsman.

In response to a request from The Day, AFSCME Local 1565, the union that represents corrections officers, issued a statement from union president Mike Vargo.

“AFSCME Local 1565 supports our members’ right to due process,” the statement said. “We respect the ongoing investigative process and await for its completion. Until then, we will not comment further on this matter.”

Attacks on rise

The alleged assault comes at a time when correction officers have raised safety concerns amid an increase in attacks on officers by inmates. In August, two officers at Garner were stabbed by an inmate with a sharpened toothbrush.

Correction officers attribute two group fights at Corrigan in Montville to passage of the Protect Act, which has increased the amount of time inmates are out of their cells and in with the general prison population. McGoldrick, one of the corrections officer charged in the assault, was among union members to speak publicly in September about the need to hire more prison staff for the safety of staff and inmates.

Hamlin remains held in prison on a $100,00 bond pending the outcome of his arrest by Norwich police in June for second-degree robbery, second-degree assault, fifth-degree larceny and other charges. Norwich Superior Court, where the case is pending, has sealed the file in his case from public viewing, an indication that Hamlin has applied to a diversionary program. Court officials said they are barred from commenting on a sealed case.

Hamlin’s recent arrest in Norwich was not his first run in with the law. In 2020, Hamlin and another inmate were arrested in connection with an attack on three correction officers at Corrigan Correctional Center in Montville where he was being held at the time. Three officers were taken to the hospital for treatment including a female officer who was “viciously kicked,” a DOC spokesman said at the time.

Family said Hamlin has struggled with bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and other issues. Hamlin is the son of the late Vanessa White and homicide victim Anthony Hamlin, who was beaten to death and left in a field in Ledyard when Elijah Hamlin was seven years old. His mother had also been his biggest advocate but died of cancer in 2020.

Since his mother died, Lugo and his grandmother Darlene Hamlin are among other family members to continue advocacy for Hamlin. Lugo said she wonders that with the lack of notification from the DOC and Hamlin’s struggles in prison, “Am I going to get a phone call that my nephew is dead?”

Darlene Hamlin said family members plan to follow the court cases of the correction officers and are looking to enlist an attorney on Elijah Hamlin’s behalf.

“I think it’s just inhumane. It’s really sad. I was in tears this morning ... to have one of your loved ones treated this way.”

SAMANTHA LUGO

AUNT OF ELIJAH HAMLIN