BAYPORT, Minn. – Sergeant. Staci Stone had just started her shift Thursday morning at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater when a nurse called for Narcan, the antidote for a drug overdose.
Stone, a veteran corrections officer for more than 15 years, explained that the Narcan was actually for a colleague, another commander who had just caught an inmate smoking a synthetic narcotic.
“It was just in the air. Whatever he was smoking, he blew it out,” Stone said. “And the moment we were in the air, we started showing symptoms.”
Beginning in June, staff at Stillwater, Rush City and Faribault prisons began screening, scanning and reprinting mail after investigators found pieces legal and personal mail stained and contaminated with synthetic narcotics.
However, this incident in Stillwater occurred in September and led to a two-day closure. Nine staff members, including Stone, were hospitalized.
WCCO
“We went to health care and then suddenly it was just vomiting. The nausea and vomiting escalated our symptoms,” she said. “It’s scary for everyone.”
So far this year, there have been at least 70 cases of suspected overdoses in state prisons, most of which led to lockdowns that frustrate prisoners, staff and their families.
The DOC has emphasized that its Office of Special Investigations will continue its investigation into the Stillwater incident as well as its crackdown on drug trafficking.
“At what point do you say enough is enough and try something else? I don’t think I know what the answer will be, but I’m open to anything,” Stone said.
Also last month, a former correctional officer at Faribault — 43-year-old Lindsey Adams of Farmington — was arrested and charged with third-degree possession of methamphetamine and introducing contraband into a state prison, the Rice County Attorney’s Office said.
According to prosecutors, authorities saw the inmate and guard exchanging words on live video.
Jonas Kaplan
