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National Guard members deployed in New York prisons have endured unacceptable treatment, including female members filmed changing clothes and exposure to noxious fumes from makeshift drug use, The Post has learned.
Governor Kathy Hochul drafted in 8,200 members of the state National Guard and declared a state of emergency in February after an illegal strike by prison workers left facilities dramatically understaffed.
However, after being mandated for duty, the guardsmen were badly trained and subjected to various horrors in the prison environment, according to a source.
A group of eight female members stationed at the Taconic Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, NY, were housed in prison facilities where they were allegedly subject to “humiliating surveillance” by video while they slept and changed their clothes.
The women had asked for the video surveillance to be switched off, but the cameras remained on, the source told The Post.
“They were told that the cameras were not active, but they knew the cameras were on because of offhand comments made by prison staff,” the source said, adding the women are now seeking legal representation.
A spokesperson for the minimum security prison said they were aware of the accusations and an investigation is underway by the prison service and New York State Police.
“Our top priority is ensuring the safety and security of all individuals who enter our facilities. We are aware of these incredibly disturbing allegations … [We] will impose strong disciplinary action for anyone who is found to have violated the privacy of these individuals,” a statement to The Post read.
Other national guardsmen serving in New York prisons said increasingly desperate inmates pulled the lithium batteries out of their prison-issue tablets and “cooked” them to get high, according to the insider. The Post is not naming the facilities in order to protect sources.
As a result, the guard members inhaled these fumes, leaving them worried they would test positive for drug use after mandatory urine testing.
The source said drug addicted prisoners got so desperate because their usual sources – regular prison guards as well as their personal visitors – weren’t able to supply. All visits by the public were suspended during the 22 day strike.
“In response to a reported increase of exposures to illegal substances, we are investing in legal mail scanners to detect substances and protect staff, the National Guard, and the incarcerated population,” added the statement from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
It also said staff will confiscate damaged tablets and discipline those who tamper with them.
The state of emergency was declared on Feb. 19 after 12,000 prison guards walked off the job during a wildcat strike, impacting 42 out of 45 state prisons.
Three weeks later, Hochul fired 2,000 corrections guards who then refused to return to work.
After the Guardsmen were drafted in, they were given only rudimentary training to prepare them for some of the most ruthless people in the state.
“The training consisted of a couple of hours, with some people coming to the base to warn soldiers to watch out for prisoners who are master manipulators,” the source told The Post.
National Guard soldiers watched over inmates in medium-security prison dorms as well as those in maximum-security cell blocks, according to the New York National Guard’s website.
Duties included “conducting head counts, delivering meals and monitoring special housing units for inmates in solitary confinement,” according to an April press release.
More than seven weeks after the strike, almost 3,000 guard members are still on prison duty as a result of a staff shortage. All who remain are volunteers, and they receive bonus pay for their work.
English (US)