COLLINS, N.Y. — Three days after 11 officers at Collins Correctional Facility and one nurse were hospitalized following life-saving efforts after an inmate attempted suicide, new information is emerging from the HAZMAT incident.
On Wednesday, officials announced for the first time that the inmate survived, but said that they still don’t know what staff was exposed to a substance when responding to an inmate attempting suicide.
It all started early Sunday morning when officers ran into the cell of an inmate attempting to commit suicide and started performing CPR, but then shortly after began feeling dizzy, vomiting and some even passing out.
That led to a number of officers needing to be narcanned and 11 being transported to ECMC. All of the officers were discharged that night.
The union representing the corrections officers on Wednesday said they are frustrated with workplace conditions and a lack of communication.
"To have anybody wake up in the morning, kiss their husbands or wife, and then do chest compressions on someone and end up meeting a nurse at ECMC? What world does that seem right? It's unheard of, but to then turn around and keep working and not know what happened? Or we're not allowed to know, anyways," Kenny Gold, the Western Region Vice President for NYSCOPBA — the union that represents correctional officers — said Wednesday.
The union sent a letter last month to Gov. Kathy Hochul with their concerns, but Gold said they have not gotten a response back just yet.
The fact that any of this was even able to happen in the first place is what brought Republican lawmakers together tonight to advocate for change to the New York State Halt Act, which was signed into law in 2021 to restrict the amount of time inmates can spend in solitary confinement.
“The halt act is equivalent to bail reform,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said. “You do whatever you do, and no one, no one is held responsible at the end of the day. It's gut wrenching.”
“It is outrageous that the rights of inmates are being prioritized over the safety and concerns of correctional officers and their families,” said David DiPietro, a New York State Assemblyman (R-147th District).
While Republicans believe the law is contributing to situations like Sunday, Democrats that supported the act believe it was necessary because of the psychological and physical harms that extended periods in isolation can cause a person.
There is no current legislation that has made any notable progress to try to reverse the act, but Republicans say they are hoping to push for more legislation this upcoming session.