Snyder bill would give pepper spray to corrections officers
State Reps. Pam Snyder and Timothy S. Mahoney introduced legislation that would ensure all state corrections officers are equipped with aerosol pepper spray to deter prison assaults.
“Representative Mahoney and I moved swiftly to draft the bill after inspecting SCI-Fayette earlier this month and learning that only one in four guards were equipped with the spray,” said Snyder, D-Jefferson. “Our House Bill 2084 would provide a nonlethal tool to help keep our state prison guards safe on the job.”
The legislation is based on recent federal legislation and would provide canisters of the spray to officers working in medium- and high-security state prisons, said Mahoney, D-Fayette County.
“Sprays can deter serious injuries and deaths,” Mahoney said, noting 19 assaults were reported in the first four months of 2016 at the 2,000-inmate state prison in Luzerne Township. “We need to get these safety devices into the hands of guards as quickly as possible.”
Snyder said legislation signed into law in Washington, D.C., this year made pepper spray available to federal correctional officers.
Mahoney said the lawmakers learned of the dangers guards are exposed to during their May 6 visit to SCI-Fayette, including the recent spate of drug busts and weapon seizures.