Officer indicted after alleged overdose at Delaware's Ferris School juvenile lockup
An officer at Delaware's juvenile lockup near Wilmington has been charged with official misconduct after police accuse him of overdosing on heroin while manning the control center at the facility.
A New Castle County Grand Jury recently indicted the officer on misdemeanor official misconduct as well as 11 misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children at the facility.
Court documents indicate the officer disclosed to medical personnel at the time that he had recently relapsed into heroin use.
Ferris School, located on Centre Road outside of Wilmington, is part of the state's largest campus to incarcerate youth. It houses boys aged 13 to 18 years old.
Arrest documents indicate that the investigation began in late August when Tanya Banks, the school's superintendent, contacted Delaware State Police to report allegations that multiple employees had been smuggling drugs into the facility to sell to juveniles.
During that conversation, Banks told the investigator that an officer had overdosed three days before her contacting the police. She said that officer had been named as one of those suspected of smuggling the contraband.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families, the entity that manages Ferris, declined to comment on whether the officer is still employed or what interventions may have came from the drug-running report.
The officer was not charged with any crime related to dealing drugs and instead his charges relate specifically to the alleged overdose.
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Arrest documents state that the officer was found unconscious on the floor of the school’s central control room, which Banks told officers was the “most critical position” in the facility with responsibilities that include monitoring surveillance cameras, communicating with staff, emergency notification and control over all doors.
The officer regained consciousness after the paramedics administered Narcan. His girlfriend, also an employee at the school, told paramedics that he had a history of heroin use, according to arrest documents.
The officer was hospitalized, denied using drugs or bringing them into the school and told officials that he suffered a diabetic episode, Banks told officers. Medical records subpoenaed by investigators showed that the officer was treated for a drug overdose, not a diabetic episode.
Additionally, the officer admitted to medical staff that he recently had relapsed on heroin and accidentally overdosed. The investigator wrote in court documents that the officer also told paramedics that he “snorted a substance” prior to the overdose, which comported with his “strange and unusual” behavior investigators saw on surveillance footage showing him prior to the overdose.
Court documents indicate there were 15 people locked up at the facility at the time and that 11 were legally juveniles, and so the officer is also charged with endangering their welfare in addition to official misconduct.
The arrest is the first law enforcement incident to become public in recent years at Ferris School and the New Castle County Detention Center, a lockup for juveniles awaiting court dates located on the same campus as Ferris.
Instances of fighting, injured officers and property damage have been reported at the facilities in each of 2019, 2020 and 2021.
2021: 'Significant damage' at Ferris School during Saturday incident
The officer's alleged overdose follows two high-profile instances of law enforcement officials overdosing on the job.
In 2022, a Dover officer pleaded guilty to charges associated with allegations that he overdosed in his patrol car. He agreed to undergo treatment and forfeit his ability to work in law enforcement.
Last year, a Millsboro police sergeant pleaded guilty to crimes associated with tampering with and using drugs stored in his department's evidence locker. He also overdosed in a police vehicle, lost his job and was sentenced to drug treatment.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Officer indicted after overdose at Delaware's Ferris School lockup
