Acacia Prison guard allegedly king-hit eager to return to work, Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia says

An Acacia Prison officer allegedly king-hit by an inmate on Sunday has told Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia he is eager to return to work. Asked about the assault in Question time on Tuesday, Mr Papalia said he had spoken with the guard, named Damien, who had told the Minister he was disappointed in the attack. But Mr Papalia dismissed claims by the Prison Officers Union that the attack came about because of understaffing at Acacia Prison. “Damien was standing next to another prison officer talking to a prisoner in a friendly fashion about the soccer on the weekend and was laughing when he was king-hit from behind,” Mr Papalia told the Parliament. “I will say this with respect to Damien’s welfare and well-being he has a swollen jaw and he was going for an MRI today, so I hope it’s gone well. “He was not an incident that was a consequence of inadequate resourcing or staffing or anything of that nature. It was as a consequence of some appalling behaviour by a criminal — that should be condemned. “He was he was disappointed because he goes out of his way as so many of our professional prison officers do in our prison system, He goes out of his way to build a relationship or rapport with those in his charge.” Mr Papalia said Damien was emblematic of the thousands of corrective services staff working in tough circumstances. “He gets to know their family circumstances and cares about them and extends that care to them and he was disappointed as a consequence,” he said. “He didn’t know this particular individual, but he does know a lot of other people and he goes out of his way and that’s the disappointment that he felt beyond that. “What he said to me is he’s feeling frustrated because he wants to get back to work straight away.” WA Prison Officers Union secretary Andy Smith told The West on Monday the officer was “king hit” from behind during “normal duties” at the medium-security facility. “Acacia prison, like all prisons in WA, are horrendously understaffed,” he said. “When there aren’t enough staff, officers work in dangerous and complex situations.” Mr Smith said the prison had been in contact with the officer’s family and police confirmed they were investigating the incident.