Six Butler County prison workers were sickened Tuesday after coming into contact with an unknown substance.
Warden Joe DeMore said it was about 7 p.m. when officials got information that some inmates might have contraband in their possession. Three correction officers were sent to a specific cell to do a search, and that’s when they started coming down with symptoms.
“During that, three officers came down with symptoms including elevated heart rates, dizziness and burning noses and throats,” DeMore said in an interview Wednesday.
The officers were treated by two prison nurses, who then began to also show the same symptoms. A fourth officer showed symptoms as well. All six workers were taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment and have since been released.
It’s unclear what substance the workers came in contact with. It will be sent to a lab for specific testing but DeMore believes it could have been synthetic marijuana, also known as K2 or Spice.
“There’s been a lot of problems across the state with inmates sending in K2,” DeMore said.
DeMore says the prison’s mail policy will likely be changed. The prison is also getting Hazmat gear- including gloves and mask- to wear during cell searches.
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It was all-hands-on-deck at Butler Memorial Hospital when the situation occurred Tuesday night at the Butler County Prison.
A Butler Health System spokeswoman said great care was taken to make sure no other potential exposures occurred- including to the hospital staff or the public. The situation initially was dispatched as a ‘mass-causality” incident and proper protocol was followed.
The Butler Memorial Hospital emergency room was able to deal with the situation while still accepting walk-ins and EMS arrivals.
“We did not divert any patients and we were not on diversion at any point,” according to Jana Panther of Butler Health System.
The six Butler County Prison workers were discharged from the hospital around 10:30 p.m.
The post UPDATE: It Was Likely Synthetic Marijuana That Sickened 6 Butler County Prison Workers, Warden Says appeared first on ButlerRadio.com – Butler, PA.
