PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
August 3, 2017
Contact:
Mazie Stilwell, Communications Specialist
(515) 246-2637
CCF K2 USE SPIKES, GOES UNADDRESSED
Homan: “It is clear through recent events that Governor Reynolds has no grasp on the state’s correctional facilities and the very serious issues they face.”
DES MOINES – AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement in response to a rising drug problem at the Clarinda Correctional Facility in Clarinda, Iowa:
“Over the past five days, the Clarinda Correctional Facility has seen a sharp increase in the number of inmates using the synthetic drug K2. Inmates were found incoherent, vomiting, urinating on themselves, hallucinating, falling in units, and unable to walk. Despite the sudden rise in the drug’s presence, the administration has yet to address the issue and the facility has yet to be locked down for a thorough sweep to remove all traces of the drug from the premises. The rise in the presence of K2 also correlates with the Depart of Corrections decision to cease staff searches of visitors entering the facility.
“The Clarinda Correctional Facility, like all of Iowa’s correctional facilities, is dangerously understaffed, which is amplifying a problem that could be addressed with an adequate number of correctional officers and other security personnel. It is clear through recent events that Governor Reynolds has no grasp on the state’s correctional facilities and the very serious issues they face.”
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 61 represents 40,000 public employees in Iowa including law enforcement and correctional officers, firefighters, mental health workers, professional school staff, emergency responders, and many other workers. AFSCME Council 61 also represents home health care and child care providers across the state and private sector workers at Prairie Meadows, Palmer College of Chiropractic, Des Moines University, and ABM (Marshalltown).
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