By Joe LoTemplio
The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — After two recent incidents caused several staff and inmates to be sent to the hospital, the state has locked down Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone.
“For the safety of the staff, incarcerated and community and following two high profile incidents that sent 25 staff members to the hospital for treatment, Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III has ordered Upstate Correctional Facility to be locked down immediately and undergo a full facility search which will include drug-sniffing K9s from the Office of Special Investigations,” a statement from the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said Wednesday.
Visitation will be suspended for the duration of the lockdown.
“The safety of our staff and those in our custody and care are a top priority. The introduction of contraband drugs is dangerous and potentially lethal and must be rooted out in order to make our correctional facilities a safer place for all. The search is ongoing and expected to take several days.”
The safety of your personnel, your facility and your inmates depend on inspections. In the video below, Gordon Graham talks about the importance of performing necessary inspections regularly to avoid future problems.
Union speaks out
The union representing correction officers said serious measures need to be taken to prevent substances from getting into facilities.
“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 withing the facilities and enhanced safety protocols,” Chris Summers, New York State Correction Officers Police Benevolent Association president, said.
On Jan. 22 at Upstate, a maximum security facility in Malone, an intoxicated inmate was brought into the infirmary after being involved in a fight with another inmate, the union said. Due to his medical condition, multiple doses of Narcan were administered until the inmate became responsive.
After the Narcan was administered, the inmate remained combative with officers and body holds were used to contain the inmate until he became compliant, the union said. He was transported to Alice Hyde Medical Center for further evaluation.
The union said that 11 officers, 8 registered nurses and 1 civilian began experiencing symptoms that included dizziness, vomiting, high blood pressure and fainting.
They were all transported to Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone for treatment. Two of the registered nurses were administered Narcan to combat their symptoms. All staff were treated and released from the hospital.
Franklin County and the State Police HAZMAT teams responded to the facility as a result of the exposure. They could not determine the substance that caused the symptoms to staff, the union said.
Three days later, three officers and two registered nurses were taken to the hospital after responding to a medical emergency in the infirmary for an inmate who was unresponsive, the union said.
The three officers and two nurses immediately began experiencing symptoms of light headiness, and dizziness after treating the inmate. One officer and a nurse needed to be administered Narcan after they became unresponsive, the union said.
After being treated at the hospital, all staff were released.
The State Police HAZMAT could not determine what substance caused that medical emergency either.
Investigation
DOCCS said they were still investigating what happened.
The union said there have been several incidents of inmate overdoses and staff developing significant health symptoms after having contact with inmates in the first month of 2025 at facilities across the state.
On Saturday, Jan. 25 , an officer began experiencing slurred speech, was shaking, and sweating profusely after conducting a pat frisk of an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy . 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, the union said.
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.
On Monday, Jan. 27 , four officers were injured and exposed to an unknown substance at Lakeview Correctional Facility in Brocton in Western New York 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 union said.
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, the union said.
On the floor, the inmate bit one officer’s finger, breaking the skin, the union said. 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, the union said. They were transported to Westfield Hospital and treated and released and did not return to duty.
Also, two inmates needed to receive multiple doses of Narcan, and an AED was utilized and CPR performed to revive both men after apparent drug overdoses at Marcy Correctional Facility this week, the union said.
Contraband
“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,” Summers said.
The union said that contraband seized in 2024 numbered 4,739, a 55% 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,” Summers said.
State Assemblyman D. Billy Jones (D- Chateaugay Lake ) a former correction officer, said steps such as making sure every visitor goes through high-tech body scanners upon entering a facility and better ways of checking legal mail to inmates and packages need to be taken.
“We need to come up with better standards and policies to make sure these dangerous substances and contraband is not getting into our facilities,” Jones said.
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