Officers recall corrections sergeant's condition after prison attack
In court for the second day of trial Wednesday, one veteran officer wept while testifying that she ran out of first-aid supplies trying to clot Baserman's wounds.
Another officer, now-SCI Somerset Sgt. William Durst, said he accompanied Baserman to UPMC Somerset, and now regrets lying to his co-worker during a bedside discussion that night.
"I lied to him in every way to keep him calm, cool and collected," Durst recalled on the witness stand, adding that he could see Baserman's condition declining.
"I told him he looked OK," Durst said.
Baserman died 11 days after the 2018 attack in an SCI-Somerset institutional "day room" - or recreation area.
Former SCI-Somerset inmate Paul Kendrick, 29, is charged with criminal homicide and a list of assault charges related to Baserman's death, and for allegedly injuring another officer who tried to stop the altercation.
Prosecutors allege Kendrick, who already is sentenced to life in prison for an unrelated 2014 death, intended to kill Baserman.
They played a 17-minute surveillance video Monday that showed the attack and moments leading up to it.
Defense attorneys have said they aren't disputing Kendrick attacked Baserman that day, but challenged the assertion he was trying to kill the corrections sergeant.
Testimony is expected to resume Wednesday afternoon.
Check back for more information on this developing story.
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