New protocols and body scanners coming to Maricopa County jails after K9 Max is exposed to fentanyl
MSCO making changes after K9 is exposed to fentanyl
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office K9 Max was rushed to the hospital after a fentanyl exposure during the intake of four inmates and now MCSO says they are making changes to the process. FOX 10's Kenzie Beach has more.
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - A Maricopa County Sheriff's Office K9 was exposed to drugs at a Valley jail.
The K9 is already back to work, but the Sheriff's Office is cracking down with new protocols to keep drugs out.
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MCSO K-9 Max recovers after being exposed to fentanyl
MCSO K-9 Max was exposed to fentanyl on April 23 after alerting deputies that the drug was reportedly on an inmate. He's already made a full recovery!
What we know:
Specifically, Fentanyl continues to be a problem across the Valley and inside Maricopa County jails.
We learned two full-body scanners will be installed here at the inmate intake, transfer, and release jail.
It's the main place they believe drugs are being brought in.
What they're saying:
"We believe that that's how much of this contraband is getting into our jails. When inmates are booked, they're bringing it in their body cavities," said Jeff Gentry, Undersheriff at the MCSO.
Maricopa County has the fourth-largest inmate population in the country and drug exposure is only getting worse.
"When it's in an office, it makes it kind of difficult because we're obviously limited on what we can do and how we can go about getting out of it," said MCSO K9 handler Brandon Rice.
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Why you should care:
The latest victim of drugs inside the jail was none other than MCSO K9 Max.
"We were doing what Max does best," said Rice, who is also part of the MCSO Special Response Team. "We do what we call odor-in-person searching."
Max and Rice have been on the special response team for over a year.
While searching four inmates, Max found traces of opiods.
Deputy Rice noticed Max was not acting like his normal puppy self, showing signs of medical distress, panting and pacing.
The two are inseparable, and his handler knew right away something was wrong.
"Being a handler, I'm with this guy all the time. So that's why I, as a handler, was able to notice that he wasn't doing his job right," Rice said.
Max was rushed to the hospital where he received a double dose of Narcan and within minutes his whole demeanor changed.
He made a full recovery, returning to work the next day, finding even more drugs on an inmate.
"We were able to find another 400-plus pills that were being attempted to get by and into our facility," said Rice.
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Overdose crisis at Estrella Jail: Former inmates reveal drug smuggling tactics
A surge in inmate overdoses is forcing the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to make changes to how inmates are processed at Estrella Jail in Phoenix.
Dig deeper:
Earlier this year, the Estrella Jail had more than a dozen overdoses in a three-week timespan.
Every single inmate will now have to go through a full-body scanner.
"All it takes is just a little bit of it. Some of the purest forms of this fentanyl can cause the most damage just by the sheer contact of it," said Rice.
They plan to have the scanners installed in the next 60 days, putting a stop to any drugs entering Maricopa County jails.