Meth found in cell overdose incident at Sullivan County Jail

A Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office report said initial field testing confirmed the presence of methamphetamines at their Blountville jail complex after 16 correctional officers and five inmates were taken to the hospital for treatment of overdose symptoms.

The staff was providing medical assistance to the inmates just after 7:30 Friday evening when they began to become sick with respiratory distress, excessive sweating, an increased heart rate, and numbness in extremities.

All patients were released. The next step is to determine the exact substance they were exposed to and how it made its way into the jail.

(IMAGE: Bristol Broadcasting Co News Archives)