Maricopa County sheriff defends decision not to scan detention officers after 12 inmate overdoses

PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan stood by his decision to stop scanning detention officers for contraband and drugs in the wake of news that 12 inmates overdosed at the Estrella Jail in Phoenix within the span of a week.

One of those overdoses was fatal, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).

“The county jail, the population is a lot more transient. We get them fresh off the street, and, subsequently, what they do is they smuggle drugs into the jail system in their body cavities,” Sheridan told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Tuesday.

MCSO investigators currently believe the 12 overdoses originated from drugs smuggled in this way.

Why Maricopa County Sheriff stopped scanning detention officers for contraband

Sheridan made the decision to stop scanning jail employees for contraband and drugs last month, shortly after taking office.

It was a reversal of a policy implemented by former Sheriff Paul Penzone.

“In the last 25 years, there have been two sheriff’s detention officers that have smuggled drugs into the jail system,” Sheridan said. “The drugs are not coming in our system by our detention officers.”

Scanning detention officers could hurt morale, he added.

“Sending the message to the other 1,200 employees [that] ‘We don’t trust any of you,’ that’s bad leadership,” Sheridan said. “The drugs are coming in [through] body cavities … and non-sheriff employees that enter the jail system.”

How MCSO is trying to cut down on overdoses in county jails

Sheridan identified staffing shortages as a contributing factor to the recent spike in overdoses at county jails.

“I’ve got about 840 detention officer vacancies,” he said. “We just don’t have enough staff to adequately search the prisoners. … I’m supposed to have 2,200 detention officers. I have a little over 1,100.”

To address this issue, he’s implementing X-ray screening machines to identify inmates who may be smuggling contraband or drugs into the jail system.

“We’re also getting X-ray machines to put in all the facilities so we can scan the interior of body cavities for drugs in the women’s jail and then the other four men’s jails,” Sheridan said.

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