Turmoil In Prisons | News, Sports, Jobs

State Sen. George Borrello is joined by corrections officers and their families Thursday during a rally at Sunset Bay. PJ photo by MJ Stafford

IRVING – State corrections officers demanded more support from Albany during a Thursday rally at Sunset Bay Beach Club.

A slate of speakers accused Gov. Kathy Hochul and her administration of putting corrections officers in a tenuous position with insufficient protocols for handling fentanyl, and regular forced overtime.

State Sen. George Borrello – on familiar turf in Sunset Bay – opened the rally. He said if any non-state agency put its employees in danger every day and forced them to work so much overtime, Hochul and her administration would be outraged. But since the corrections officers are state workers, they think it’s OK, he said.

Borrello said that unlike his Democratic colleagues, he recognized that “you need the tools to keep yourself and everyone else safe. “You guys’ lives are worse every day than people who have committed atrocities against the state of New York.”

Borrello garnered cheers when he suggested suspending all contact visits with state prisoners, due to the threat of contraband fentanyl and other drugs. “That is the only solution,” he said.

Borrello, other elected officials, and local law enforcement all signed a letter to Hochul demanding suspension of the visits.

Borrello complained that Hochul had done “nothing” after several incidents in Western New York where corrections officers were exposed to fentanyl. Borrello also accused his “liberal colleagues” of seeking “to encourage contraband in prisons” by holding up approval for installation of new body scanning equipment at prisons.

In a letter to the governor, legislators cited three instances in the last 10 days where correctional officers and sergeants fell seriously ill and required emergency hospital care after coming into contact with unknown drugs while attending to inmates. The incidents occurred on Aug. 4 and Tuesday at Collins Correctional Facility and Aug. 8 at Wyoming Correctional Facility.

Other speakers included State Sen. Pat Gallivan, state Assemblymen Joe Giglio, Andrew Goodell, Stephen Hawley and Chris Tague, and Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone. New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association officials also spoke.

Numerous children in the crowd of about 150 held signs such as “I miss my dad, stop mandating him” and “Daddy’s never home.”

Leaders from NYSCOPBA stated that their members are at the breaking point as a result of the increased violence in the prisons, chronic understaffing which results in frequent mandatory overtime and now, concerns that they may be accidentally exposed to a lethal drug while at work. The stresses are straining families and taking a toll on officers’ health and well-being.

“The dedicated men and women of NYSCOPBA have been facing an alarming rise in violence within our prisons. It is crucial that the State prioritizes the safety and well-being of our correctional officers. Immediate action is necessary to ensure a safe and secure work environment for all,” stated Chris Summers, NYSCOPBA President.