LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Metro Department of Corrections has launched an internal investigation after an incarcerated man at the jail died at UofL Hospital of a suspected fentanyl drug overdose on July 8.
On July 15, LMDC officials identified the man as 44-year-old Norman Sheckles.
LMDC Director Jerry Collins said they have a suspect and have a "pretty good idea of how this happened."
"I fully anticipate when this investigation is complete that there will be charges on one or more individuals," Collins said. He said while details are limited, he confirmed the suspect was another incarcerated person.
Sheckles' death is the ninth at the downtown jail since last November, but this is the first where someone is expected to be charged.
He said although authorities have increased security, a new body scanner and regular K-9 searches, drugs still find a way in the jail.
"There's a problem in the community, which always makes it a problem in the jail," he said. "Especially with fentanyl, which is poison, a very small amount can cause an overdose."
Collins said just this week, officers have stopped fake legal mail, which had drugs inside of it, attempting to be sent into the jail. In that case, the person it was being sent to and the person outside the jail was charged.
"If you have disregard for human life, and you're trying to introduce this poison into this facility, we're going to pursue charges on you. And we're going to do it vigorously," he said.
Collins said LMDC's investigation is ongoing.
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Maj. Darrell Goodlett said officers were notified about the medical emergency around 4:45 p.m. last Friday.
He said officers responded and told medical staff immediately.
Metro Corrections FOP Union President Daniel Johnson said the people housed in the general population dorm did not alert officers for nearly 20 minutes after it occurred.
"They had thrown water on this individual to try to wake him up themselves as to not alert anyone that there was drugs in the dorm, trying to conceal that from us," he said.
Sgt. Michelle Sogan described Sheckles as having been found in very poor condition.
"We pick him up out of his bunk. He's drenched in either sweat or urine, just anything, just head to toe, he's soaked," Sogan said. "We lay him down on the ground. I immediately start chest compressions."
Narcan, along with other life-saving measures, were administered to Sheckles, but to no avail.
"For us, we all truly actually care and we take our jobs serious, and it's just, it's hard," she said. "And while you're trying your best to save the person and it doesn't work, it just kind of takes a toll on you."
After the incident, officers called in a Special Operations response team and canine narcotics team.
They swept the area and recovered what Johnson confirmed to have the same properties as fentanyl. Those drugs are now being tested.
Sogan said several incarcerated persons tested positive after being administered drug tests. The K-9 narcotics team found drugs and other contraband on four inmates.
She said three other incarcerated persons overdosed as well but survived due to life-saving actions taken by officers. It's, in her mind, a success to be attributed to proper staffing Friday.
"On Thursdays, sometimes we run with two officers for the entire floor, it'll be two officers and a sergeant, sometimes three," she said. "And you're very, very lucky to have four officers."
"We were fortunate enough to be what we consider to be fully staffed," Johnson said. "But even with four people on the floor, it's still incredibly difficult. All of our living areas and dorms are set up linear, so it's not like you can stand in one spot and see all around yourself."
According to the latest Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections Directors Daily Briefing Report, LMDC currently holds an in-bed population of 1,364 inmates. That number is 11 more higher than the jail's designed capacity of 1,353 inmates.
This, coupled with staffing issues has become a problem, Sogan says, but one she feels is getting better under the current administration.
"I haven't seen a 'no longer employed' email in a couple of months, which I mean, you used to see every single day," she said. "You'd log on [and see] they're no longer employed, no longer employed. Now people are kind of sticking around, because we've seen these changes."
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