Fifteen Allegheny County Jail employees were sickened this week while searching cells in an attempt to crack down on illegal substances entering the jail through chemical-soaked paper, Warden Orlando Harper said Thursday.
Jail officials revoked the security clearances for two food vendor employees after they were found to be carrying paper with traces of chemicals and narcotics on Wednesday, and a third employee of Summit Food Services was arrested after she was found with a small amount of marijuana, Warden Harper said.
He did not say what the chemicals are suspected to be, but two sources with knowledge of the situation said the chemical is thought to be K2, a synthetic marijuana.
Warden Harper said jail staff and internal affairs investigators with the Allegheny County Police received tips “earlier this week” that the chemical-soaked papers were being smuggled into the jail. Inmates set the paper on fire and breathe in the fumes and smoke to get high.
On Tuesday, an informant in the jail told authorities that inmates in pod 7E were inhaling fumes from lit paper, Warden Harper said.
Correctional officers conducted a search of the pod around 3:30 p.m. and within a half-hour were vomiting, dizzy and experiencing chest tightness, Warden Harper said. Seven correctional officers and a sergeant were sent to a hospital, treated and released back to finish their shifts, he said.
On Wednesday, cell searches at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. also sent correctional officers to the hospital. One officer experienced symptoms while searching pod 2F. A sergeant, three correctional officers and two medical staff experienced high blood pressure and elevated heart rates while searching pod 8E.
All were sent to a hospital as a precaution and released, Warden Harper said.
No inmates reported symptoms in any of the searches, Warden Harper said.
As part of the investigation into the chemical-soaked paper, Allegheny County police investigators conducted a search of several Summit Food Services employees around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Warden Harper said. The search was prompted by a tip from an anonymous source.
In collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, investigators used an Ion Mobility Spectrometry, a tool also known as an ion scanner, during the searches. The scanner can detect trace particles of narcotics and explosives, Warden Harper said.
The scanner showed that two Summit Food Service employees were carrying paper notes that showed trace amounts of contraband and, in once case, narcotics. Both employees were escorted from the jail and their security clearances were revoked, Warden Harper said.
Neither had been arrested or charged with crimes by Thursday.
A third Summit Food Services employee, Daynell Henderson, 24, was charged with a single count of contraband after investigators discovered a small bundle of suspected marijuana inside a plastic bag hidden in a paper bundle while searching Ms. Henderson.
Summit Food Services delivers food that inmates purchase with their commissary funds, according to a criminal complaint. Summit Food Services spokeswoman Debbie Albert said Ms. Henderson and one other employee were fired Wednesday. She declined to comment further.
Ms. Henderson was arrested and released on her own recognizance. She is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 22 in City Court, Downtown.
Warden Harper said that before the tips this week, jail officials had already identified inmate mail as a source of contraband, and had stopped delivering original mail to inmates. Instead, the jail began copying general mail and providing the photocopies to inmates.
“They do receive paperwork and communications in other ways,” he said in a statement Thursday.
Correctional officers and staff have been given N95 masks as a measure of protection against the fumes, Warden Harper said. Two sources told the Post-Gazette the masks are ineffective. In some cases, the source said, employees have been working in hallways because their normal work spaces have been overwhelmed by chemical fumes.
Warden Harper said the jail’s policies and procedures are under constant review.
“Our leadership is working with the DOC, union leadership, medical staff, the Health Department and others to identify what other appropriate precautions should be taken as additional searches occur in the facility,” he said.
Shelly Bradbury: 412-263-1999, sbradbury@post-gazette.com or follow @ShellyBradbury on Twitter.
First Published: January 11, 2018, 5:42 p.m.
