Teamsters Local 2011 Mourns Death of Florida Corrections Officer

Young Father Killed In the Line of Duty

TAMPA, Fla., March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 2011 is mourning the death of Sgt. Ruben Thomas, who was stabbed to death by an inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution Annex on Sunday.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO)

At about 10 p.m. Sunday, Thomas was checking on an inmate in one of the prison's dorms when the inmate attacked him. He was stabbed in the neck several times by the inmate who was armed with a "homemade weapon." The inmate, who was serving a life sentence for murdering a college student, then struck another officer in the eye with a sock filled with a heavy item before being taken into custody.

"We learned today about the tragic death of Sgt. Ruben Thomas, who was killed in the line of duty at Columbia C.I.," said Ken Wood, Acting President of Teamsters Local 2011. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sgt. Thomas' family and friends. We only hope this tragedy draws attention to the serious understaffing problems that plague FDOC."

Thomas, 24, has served with FDOC for six years. He is survived by his young daughter and fiancee.

For more information, visit http://fdocteamsters.org.

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, go to www.teamster.org or follow us on Twitter @TeamsterPower.

SOURCE Teamsters Local 2011