Fentanyl is in America’s prison system and a Rikers Island corrections officer was canned on July 11, 2022 after an inmate died on his watch. Elijah Muhammad (31) was serving time for punching a hat seller—who said he had a machete at the time.
It is also reported that he fought the police during the arrest. Prior to the assault and fight with the police, Muhammad had stolen hats from the merchant.
Rikers Island Corrections Officer Fired After Inmate ODs from Possible Fentanyl Use Behind Bars
At around 9:45 PM on July 10, Elijah Muhammad was found unresponsive at the George R. Vierno Center. Medical personnel were unable to resuscitate the 31-year-old. He is the tenth inmate to die in custody in 2022. A little over a week before Muhammad’s death, another inmate hanged himself while in a holding cell.
Also worth noting is that two other inmates took fentanyl and were rushed to the hospital after becoming ill.
Correction Commissioner Louis Molina said that after looking at Muhammad’s death, “immediate action” was necessary to deal with prison staff. They’re the first line to prevent contraband from entering the prison in the first place, after all.
Once it gets past guards and searches, it’s in there. Not only that but it’s always going to be there if searches aren’t thorough. On that note, Molina continued and said:
“An officer was terminated. We will also be referring this incident to the Department of Investigation immediately.”
Molina didn’t expand on why the officer was fired. Muhammad’s cause of death is still subject to investigation and an autopsy is scheduled.
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