Union representing civilian DOCCS employees reacts to latest dangerous attack
PEF President Wayne Spence issued the following statement on May 12, 2026. A trained parole officer himself, he is available for follow-up interviews.
The attack on a PEF member and NYS Parole Officer on April 29, 2026, in Queens is the latest example of the increasingly dangerous conditions facing everyone who works for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
During a contraband search, powdered narcotics that were confirmed by testing to contain fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine were blown directly into a parole officer’s face. The officer suffered immediate physical symptoms and could have died if the inhaled dose was stronger. (“‘Chemical Warfare?’ NYPD Says Killer Assaulted Officer with Lethal Drugs,” The Free Lance News, May 11, 2026)
PEF has repeatedly warned about the growing threat posed by synthetic drugs, airborne substances, and dangerous contraband inside correctional facilities and during parole operations. Our members – including parole officers, nurses, mental health professionals, and other frontline staff – are doing some of the most dangerous jobs in the state of New York.
They face violence, assaults, and potentially deadly chemical exposures on a regular basis while simply doing their jobs. This is unacceptable.
PEF is calling for immediate action to strengthen workplace safety protections, improve contraband detection, provide proper protective equipment, and address the escalating dangers facing staff inside DOCCS facilities and in the field.
We stand with our members and will continue fighting to ensure their safety is treated with the seriousness and urgency it deserves.
The story in The Free Lance News by JB Nicholas says that the man arrested, 58-year-old Adam Adams, was on parole for “a 1990 murder and attempted kidnapping in Brooklyn. Parole Officer Tanisha Birdell was searching Adams for contraband when she discovered a quantity of an unknown controlled substance in Adams’s front right pocket. Adams was charged with assault on a police officer, a class C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.”
