Police officers allegedly stabbed with syringe by prisoner at watchhouse

Two police officers have allegedly been stabbed with a syringe at a South East Queensland watchhouse, with the police union slamming corrective services as the accused prisoner wasn’t meant to be there.

The incident occurred at Redcliffe Watchhouse. Picture: File photo/NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Two police officers allegedly stabbed with a syringe after an altercation with a prisoner in a South East Queensland watchhouse will undergo infectious disease testing, Queensland’s Police Union says.

The male and female officers received the injury after an altercation with a prisoner at Redcliffe watchhouse on Thursday about 11am, police said.

The prisoner had been taken for a shower and is alleged to have hidden the needle before the officers were pricked.

It’s unclear how the incident unfolded.

It’s understood the man was arrested on Wednesday night and was remanded in custody on Thursday.

Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior said he was deeply disturbed by the alleged assault and said the man should not have been in the watchhouse.

“(To be) stabbed with a syringe is not only a heinous act of violence but also puts them at potential risk of disease and trauma,” he said.

“The safety of our police should always be paramount and it gives me no joy to say I feared this type of incident would occur in a watchhouse. I will say again police watchhouses are not prisoner daycare.

“My thoughts are with the injured officers and their families. The trauma and anxiety they will go through over the next few months will be horrific.

“The Police Union will do whatever we can to assist them. I genuinely hope they can recover and feel confident to return to work at some stage.”

The union has been pushing for Queensland Corrective Services to take prisoners as quickly as possible with some remaining in centres for days.

However the state’s prisons are also heavily overcrowded.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said officers were investigating an assault of three police officers at the watchhouse.

“Preliminary investigations indicate, just after 11am three police officers were assaulted by a man who was in police custody at the Redcliffe Watchhouse,” the spokeswoman said.

“It is understood two officers had sustained a needle stick injury during the incident and have been transported to Redcliffe Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

“The third officer was not physically injured.

”A 27-year-old man was not physically injured and remains in police custody.

“Investigations remain ongoing.”