Corrections officer fired after two ODs
Investigation into how drugs are being smuggled in is ongoing
A corrections officer has been fired amid an ongoing investigation into how drugs are being smuggled into the Norfolk County Correctional Center in Dedham, the sheriff ’s office said.
The firing of the male officer came just days after two inmates overdosed on drugs, according to the sheriff ’s office. The sheriff ’s office did not release the officer’s name Thursday.
Two inmates overdosed Saturday after coming into possession of illegal drugs. Both received “prompt medical care” from Norfolk County corrections officers and medical staff, whose “swift and professional actions are to be commended,” said Kara Nyman, spokeswoman for Sheriff Jerome McDermott.
The corrections officer was relieved of his duties on Wednesday, Nyman said.
In a separate case, investigators from the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office, working with the Dedham Police Department, arrested a woman in the correctional center’s lobby Saturday while she was allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into the facility. The woman is now facing charges, Nyman said.
The Norfolk County House of Correction and Jail share a facility in Dedham.
Nyman said the Norfolk County Sheriff ’s Office “will work with the District Attorney’s Office and vigorously pursue charges against anyone trying to bring contraband into our facility.”
Corrections officers have in the past faced charges for allegedly smuggling or intending to smuggle drugs into Massachusetts slammers.
William Holts of Pawtucket, R.I., pleaded guilty in July 2018 to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance after he allegedly smuggled Suboxone strips into the Massachusetts Correctional Institute facility in Norfolk for an inmate. Suboxone is typically used to treat opioid addiction, but can also be used to get high.
Steven J. Frazer of Cumberland, R.I., a former corrections officer from MCINorfolk, similarly pleaded guilty in May 2019 in connection with a conspiracy to smuggle Suboxone strips into the facility for an inmate, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s office.
Two former Essex County Correctional Facility corrections officers, Katherine Sullivan of Londonderry, N.H., and John S. Weir of Danvers, pleaded guilty to conspiring with inmates to distribute Suboxone, according to Lelling’s office.