A Luzerne County correctional officer was found unresponsive at the prison minimal offender building Tuesday night due to an apparent drug overdose, county Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo told council.
Police were contacted at the time of the discovery, and Crocamo said she instructed Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich to notify the county District Attorney’s Office.
County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said Wednesday an investigation is ongoing.
Officials said the correctional officer, who was not publicly identified, survived.
Rockovich said he cannot discuss specifics of this situation, citing the pending investigation.
Located on Reichard Street in Wilkes-Barre near the Water Street prison, the minimal offender (MO) building has more of a dormitory setting and houses inmates with nonviolent offenses.
The inmate population count at the MO building is currently 126, Rockovich said. A lieutenant, sergeant and multiple correctional officers are always simultaneously on duty at the facility, he said.
Rockovich said the county is supportive of anyone seeking treatment for substance use disorder, but on-the-job drug use cannot be tolerated.
“We have to stay vigilant and ensure our officers are obeying the law the same as we expect inmates to follow rules of the facility,” Rockovich said.
He plans to reactivate random employee drug testing.
Drug testing for both new and existing employees was put on hold for more than a year during the coronavirus pandemic, when both prison officials and outside testing companies were concerned about contact, he said.
“I will now ramp up more widespread testing,” he said. “Obviously we need to go back to even more frequent drug testing at this point.”
Rockovich said he is not aware of any other incidents of employee drug use in the workplace.
“The testing will determine if we have issues,” he said.
Drug testing of unionized correctional officers is permitted, he said.
Rockovich had revived random drug testing shortly after his July 2016 promotion to division head, in part due to the drug-related arrest of two employees related to activity before he was made overseer.
County officials had touted creation of a progressive random prison system testing policy in 2006, saying it resulted from more than a year of negotiations with union officials launched after two employees allegedly came to work under the influence of alcohol.
However, random drug testing had stopped several years after the 2006 announcement, with budgetary challenges cited as the reason.
The policy said the county has a “compelling obligation” to stop illegal drug and alcohol use “given the public safety and security concerns inherent in the operation of a prison.”
It allows testing for alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, PCP and other prescribed drugs commonly abused.
Employees are subject to disciplinary action, including possible termination, if they test positive for unauthorized drugs or alcohol and don’t admit they have an addiction problem and seek access to treatment, the policy said.
In 2007, less than a year into the program, seven employees had tested positive for drugs and were required to sign a “last chance” agreement and undergo counseling to return to work, according to prior news reports.