SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. – A tragic incident in the Spokane County Jail left two inmates dead from overdoses on Monday night. Authorities reported that three people overdosed within a span of three hours.
Lori Redford, whose granddaughter lost her father in the incident, shared her concerns.
“She just lost her dad and she wants answers like, how does this happen?” Redford said.
The Sheriff’s Department has announced that they are initiating an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the overdoses.
Sheriff John Knowles explained the challenges they face in understanding the situation fully.
“It’s going to take a while to get toxicology reports back, the autopsy reports back, for us to kind of paint the complete picture of what we saw yesterday,” said Knowles.
Chief Don Hooper of the Spokane County Jail expressed the emotional toll of the incident and highlighted the ongoing struggle with drug withdrawal among inmates.
“I will say it was one of the longer days of my career and I’ve been doing it for 28 years,” said Hooper.
Hooper mentioned that there is an ongoing after-action, mobility, and mortality review of Monday’s overdoses. A contracted doctor will also review the cases as part of the effort to prevent such incidents in the future.
Redford voiced her concerns about the dangers of drugs within the prison system.
“Nobody should die of an overdose and a prison system. And then you add fentanyl, and fentanyl is deadly. We all know that,” said Redford.
This incident has raised questions about the safety measures in place at the Spokane County Jail and the steps being taken to address drug-related issues among inmates.
