New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, Inc. is calling on the New York state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to take immediate action to address the recent rash of incidents of staff becoming ill, including one incident locally, after coming into contact with inmates who have apparently overdosed on drugs, as well as the amount of contraband that are still getting into the hands of inmates.

Those drugs are causing multiple overdoses that require Narcan to be administered to reverse the lethal effects of the drugs and causing officers and medical staff to become sick.

In the first month of this year, there have been several incidents of inmate overdoses and staff developing significant health symptoms after having contact with inmates, the union reported. These incidents are taking place across the state and close to home.

On Monday, four officers were injured and exposed to an unknown substance at Lakeview Correctional Facility near Brocton after a combative inmate attacked them as they entered his cell when he covered the cell door window and refused to respond to orders. The officers were injured when they opened his cell door, and he charged at them. They grabbed him in a body hold and forced him to the floor where he remained combative.

On the floor, the inmate bit one officer’s finger, breaking the skin.

Once officers were able to get handcuffs on the inmate, he became compliant and was escorted to a holding cell to be evaluated. Beside the injuries the four officers sustained in the attack, they also developed shortness of breath, tightness in their chests, elevated blood pressure and fatigue. They were transported to Westfield Hospital and treated and released and did not return to duty.

“The concern with the alarming number of incidents occurring coupled with the fact that hazmat teams and law enforcement officials have been unable to identify the substances responsible for these exposures underscores the need for improved drug detection methods within the facilities and enhanced safety protocols. Two inmates needed to receive multiple doses to Narcan, and an AED was utilized and CPR performed to revive both men after apparent drug overdoses at Marcy Correctional Facility this week,” said Chris Summers, NYSCOPBA president. “It is clear, with the number of incidents of unresponsive inmates in prisons across the state, dangerous drugs like synthetic marijuana (K2) and Fentanyl are still getting into the prisons at an alarming rate. Contraband seized in 2024 numbered 4,739, a fifty five percent increase from 2022, despite having a secure vendor program that was supposed to reduce drugs and weapons from getting into the facility. That makes it extremely dangerous for staff who must interact with inmates daily and immediately respond to medical emergencies with no knowledge of the type of drugs they are encountering.”

Other incidents occurred at Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone where more than two dozen officers and nurses developed various symptoms that required Narcan to be administered at the facility with all staff eventually being transported to a local hospital for further treatment on Jan. 22.

On Saturday, three officers and two registered nurses were transported to a local hospital after responding to a medical emergency in the infirmary for an inmate who was unresponsive. The three officers and two nurses immediately began experiencing symptoms of lightheadedness, and dizziness after treating the inmate.

One officer and a nurse needed to be administered Narcan after they became unresponsive. After being treated at the hospital, all staff were released.

The State Police HAZMAT Team responded to the facility and could not determine what substance caused the medical emergency.

Also on Saturday in Marcy, an officer began experiencing slurred speech, was shaking, and sweating profusely after conducting a pat frisk of an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility. He was administered Narcan by a nurse at the facility and transported to Wynn Hospital. After the incident, a sergeant and officer conducted a search of the inmate’s cube for contraband. While conducting the search, both began to experience tingling in their faces. Their symptoms progressed to the point that both began losing composure and began laughing uncontrollably. The sergeant and officer were transported to Rome Hospital for further evaluation.

Utica Fire Department HAZAMAT Team responded to the facility, tested the air quality and it was negative for any substance.