SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A year ago this month, Governor Kristi Noem fired top officials at the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls and replaced the Secretary of Corrections, after getting an anonymous complaint that included allegations of sexual harassment, nepotism, poor pay, and bad equipment. Three months ago, a review of the Department of Correction was complete and indicated the need for better safety, less turnover, and the need to deal with issues of harassment and a hostile work environment.
Now our KELOLAND News Investigation looks into just how much has been done to resolve the issues that we have exposed for years in our prisons. A whistleblower had come forward to say that prison promises were not kept.
Brandon Balsavage started working as a correctional officer at the State Penitentiary in 2019.
“I’ve always had a liking for law enforcement and corrections. I want to do more with my life. I enjoy helping people,” Balsavage said.
Six months into the job, an inmate attacked him.
“An inmate grabbed me by the neck and started stabbing me in the face, right here, closer to my artery right here. If it would have been a half-inch down, or a quarter-inch down, I would be dead right now.”
Balsavage says it was the prison’s lack of following basic safety protocol that put him in the situation in the first place.
“It is a dangerous job and can happen any time, but how this happened, I was going up to open the door, the doors are supposed to be secure at the ends of the...
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