TOWN OF COLLINS, NY (WKBW — There are still no answers as to why 11 corrections officers from the Collins Correctional Facility were hospitalized Sunday after a reported chemical exposure.
But now days after the incident, some local leaders, union members, and corrections officers are blaming state laws, and the governor for creating unsafe conditions for officers in state prisons.
“It's gut-wrenching,” stated Sheriff John Garcia, Erie County Sheriff’s Office.
A large crowd gathered outside the Collins Correctional Facility Wednesday to support correction officers.
11 officers and a nurse were taken to ECMC Sunday after the reported chemical exposure.
Kenny Gold, Union President of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, previously told 7 News an inmate attempted to take their own life, officers performed life-saving measures and while rendering aid, began feeling light-headed, and some lost consciousness.
“This is a microcosm of what's going on in the prisons every single day, short staff, the Halt Act. the laws that are being passed by uneducated legislatures. It needs to stop because at this point, we keep saying it someone is going to die,” Gold said outside of the facility on Wednesday.
No answers on what caused 11 corrections officers at Collins Correctional Facility over the weekend to become ill while trying to keep an inmate alive who attempted suicide. VP of NYSCOPPBS Western District speaks at GOP news conference blaming @GovKathyHochul @WKBW pic.twitter.com/aEdl4jA6jX
— Eileen Buckley (@eileenwkbw) August 7, 2024
Gold told reporters they still have no solid answers as to what caused those officers to become ill, but those involved and union leaders say fentanyl may have been the cause.
“There’s no communication. We don't know what's going on in these prisons any day. We don't know if it's coming in through the mail and their books. They can spray on synthetic marijuana. It's called K2 (synthetic cannabinoids) — it's fentanyl — there’s no sense of it,” remarked Gold.
The inmate survived, but some of the officers needed Narcan after the exposure.
"Numerous officers multiple times being Narcaned. They end up at ECMC, hazmat’s there. It was something I've never seen in my life before," Gold described.
Now Republican lawmakers are pushing back against state laws they said protect inmates.
“All the laws that have been passed. All the legislation that has been passed in Albany is pro-criminal. The Halt Act, bail reform, Less is More, Raise the Age — what happened to common sense? What happened to taking care of the good guys — the men and women of corrections,” commented Sheriff Garcia. “The Halt Act is equivalent to bail reform. You do whatever you do, and no one is held responsible at the end of the day."
Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy said these stories need to be told. He blames Democrats in Albany for approving laws that he claims are “coddling criminals."
"And those people need to be held accountable because they nearly had 11 people's blood on their hands last Sunday — enough is enough,” declared Langworthy.
Republican State Assemblyman David DiPietro, who sits on the state's corrections committee blasted the governor and Democrats but said it's not too late to change things.
“And I'm dumbfounded and astounded at the idiotic moronic issues and bills they put up in Albany that totally try to protect these criminals and make them think they are innocent,” Dipietro noted.
I did reach out to the governor's office and received the following statement from a spokesperson for the Governor:
“Governor Hochul respects the extraordinary work of New York's correction officers and since taking office has raised salaries, increased location pay, and provided paid parental leave. Additionally, with a focus on decreasing contraband in state correctional facilities, Governor Hochul successfully passed legislation that allows DOCCS use of body scanners and supported DOCCS implementation of the vendor package program."
"Speaking to one of the corrections officers, he told me, 'I thought I was going to die,'" Garcia told the crowd.
