Ohio sheriff wants body scanner at jail after overdoses

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - A northeast Ohio sheriff’s office is asking county officials to buy a $200,000 body scanner after two inmates recently overdosed on fentanyl smuggled into the county jail by a third inmate.

The (Youngstown) Vindicator reports (https://bit.ly/1sys93I ) that the administrator for the Mahoning County Jail in Youngstown told county commissioners Thursday that the jail “dodged a bullet” when it was able to revive the two inmates using Narcan, an antidote for fentanyl and other opiates.

County officials initially discussed buying a scanner in January. Similar scanners, which perform an 8-second X-ray, are used in Hamilton, Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh), Stark and Medina (meh-DY’-nuh) county jails.

Jail administrator Major Alki Santamas told commissioners that jailers pat down inmates and can’t perform body cavity searches without a search warrant approved by a judge.

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Information from: The Vindicator, https://www.vindy.com