Report Highlights Repeated Overdoses at Florida County Jail
by Michael Dean Thompson
Investigative reports filed by the Citrus County, Florida Sheriff’s Office, which includes the City of Inverness, paint a disturbing picture of an oversized drug problem at the CoreCivic-run county jail. As of June 2026, the Sheriff’s Office identified 11 overdose-related calls, in contrast to just eight in all of 2025. According to Citrus County Sheriff David Vincent, they have had six incidents in only one week.
Yet, CoreCivic’s jail contract monitor reported just over six overdose incidents so far this year and none for last year. Local reporting on the overdose problem led Citrus County Fire Rescue to review their own responses to medical emergencies at the jail. CoreCivic says that on three separate incidents in 2025 and 11 through mid-June of 2026, the jail staff administered Narcan. The emergencies had been called in, however, as “cardiac arrest,” “breathing problem,” or “unconscious with abnormal breathing.” Yet, even that likely underreports the number of overdoses as onsite medical staff may handle problems that are never reported.
The Sheriff’s Office is not responsible for CoreCivic’s reporting. Vincent told the Citrus County Chronicle, “Unless it’s someone requiring CPR and resuscitation, I don’t know that I get called for that.” CoreCivic reports that it has administered Narcan seven times this year, but defends the differing counts, saying they will administer Narcan any time an opioid overdose is suspected because the medication has so little risk. That means it may have been administered even when the patient was having a seizure, fainting episodes or other medical challenges unrelated to drug toxicity.
The County is considering pulling control of the jail away from CoreCivic. County commissioners have requested a preliminary operational plan for the Sheriff’s Office to resume control of the facility. Sheriff Vincent’s plan includes creating a “Detention Bureau” that would oversee jail operations, courthouse security and detainee transportation. His plan, he argues, would provide greater accountability and stronger security. Nevertheless, it may be a hard sell as he admits it will have significant start-up costs, but he feels these challenges require a fundamental change.
Vincent has meanwhile begun criminal investigations for every emergency response call. CoreCivic says they welcome the partnership, despite a recent federal investigation that charged several CoreCivic employees along with detainees in a drug smuggling conspiracy. According to Vincent, neighboring sheriffs “cannot wrap their minds around the amount of drugs that are in our jail.” Neither could the country’s citizens. He added, “If the public really knew the whole story about what’s happening there, I cannot imagine them not having an issue with that.”
Source: Harrison Chronicle
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