Multiple inmates overdose at SC jail on same day, Richland County sheriff says
Multiple inmates at a jail in Columbia overdosed after using drugs Tuesday, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
At about 4:30 p.m., deputies responded to reports of inmates experiencing overdoses at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, the sheriff’s department said Wednesday in a news release.
Jail staff told the deputies that two inmates had overdosed and were taken to a local hospital, according to the release. Additionally, two other inmates were seen by medical staff at the jail in reference to using drugs, the sheriff’s department said.
The hospitalized inmates had been given Narcan at the jail before being taken to the hospital, according to the release.
Narcan, which is the name of a popular brand of the drug Naloxone, can be administered as a nasal spray or as an injection for patients suffering from an overdose, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said.
Further information on the conditions of the hospitalized inmates, as well as those treated at the jail, was not available.
The deputy spoke with the inmates treated at the jail before going to the hospital, according to the release. At the hospital, one of the inmates confessed to the deputy that he had smoked “K2,” a synthetic marijuana, and then he “experienced symptoms of an overdose,” the sheriff’s department said.
No other injuries have been reported, but the incidents are continuing to be investigated by the sheriff’s department.
Past incidents
At least 24 people being held at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center have either died at the jail or after being taken to an area hospital in the past 10 years.
Nine of those inmates have died since January 2023, and four died 19 days apart during this past summer from drug overdoses, according to the sheriff’s department.
The jail is managed by the Richland County government, not the sheriff’s department.
The Richland County jail has drawn criticism for years because of deaths, violence, poor conditions and understaffing. In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it was opening an investigation into whether conditions at the jail violated inmate’s civil rights.
For their part, the Richland County administrators maintain that they are continuing to make progress on improving conditions at the jail.
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This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Multiple inmates overdose at SC jail on same day, Richland County sheriff says."
