Dayton Orders Flags to Half-Staff for Corrections Officer

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ Gov. Mark Dayton has ordered flags at state and federal buildings to be flown at half-staff Thursday to honor a corrections officer killed by an inmate at Stillwater state prison.

Officer Joseph Gomm was killed Wednesday at the state's flagship prison after being attacked by an inmate serving time for homicide. Edward Muhammad Johnson had been disciplined several times at the prison for multiple violent encounters before the fatal attack.

Gomm was the first state corrections officer to die while on duty in Minnesota. Dayton issued a proclamation on Monday ordering the flags to half-staff all day Thursday.
Gomm was a 16-year veteran of the department.