Skip to main content

Five COs hospitalized from drug exposure at Connecticut’s largest prison

Corrections Officer Jared Surprenant guards the perimeter of a facility with a dog Photo credit: AFSCME Council 4
Five COs hospitalized from drug exposure at Connecticut’s largest prison
By Aaron Gallant ·
Tags: Our Stories Public Safety
Five COs hospitalized from drug exposure at Connecticut’s largest prison

Five correctional officers (COs) in Connecticut were hospitalized after being exposed to illegal narcotics at work last month. The COs began experiencing symptoms after administering Narcan to an inmate who had overdosed. 

CO Rob Beamon is the president of AFSCME Local 391 (Council 4). The local represents COs at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, the state’s largest prison, where the incident occurred on June 28.  

He said drug smuggling is making corrections jobs more dangerous. And that’s a problem happening nationwide. 

“It makes the prison population less safe, it makes the officers less safe,” Beamon told NBC Connecticut. “Correctional environments are supposed to be controlled environments.” 

Photo

CO Rob Beamon, president of Local 391 (Council 4), talks to a co-worker. Photo credit: AFSCME Council 4

 

Drugs can be smuggled into prisons several different ways, but the two most common channels are through visitors and through the mail, Beamon said.

“We, as union leaders, have been pleading with our administration, our leadership, to implement better measures to quell the drugs from coming into the facility so that these incidents don't happen,” he said.

This problem is occurring across the country.

AFSCME Council 31 published a report last year with recommendations to prevent drugs from getting inside corrections facilities. The recommendations include photocopying paper mail and training officers to effectively respond to drug use in their facilities.

NBC Connecticut reported that all five COs in Connecticut were released from the hospital and were recovering at home.

Members of Council 4 remain committed to ensuring Connecticut’s corrections facilities are safe for both employees and incarcerated individuals.

Public safety professionals are turning to our union to build power. AFSCME members in corrections, law enforcement and emergency response are proud to protect our freedoms and our communities.

Visit the AFSCME Public Safety website

Related Posts