The Associated Press
GARDEN CITY, New York — Jail guards want to make it a felony for prisoners to spit at them.
Nassau County correction officials say it is a felony to throw urine and feces at them, but inmates are using saliva as a weapon. A bill has been proposed to add spit and phlegm to the list.
New York lawmaker Joseph Saladino said some inmates would be muzzled by spit masks.
“This is a very dangerous situation,” he said Thursday. “Well, they have to work with these people each and every day, wondering if they’ll bring home hepatitis, HIV or tuberculosis to their families.”
Outside the Nassau County Jail, leaders of the Sheriff’s Officers Association hurled cups of water into television camera lenses and asked reporters to imagine being hit by cups of spit.
An advocate for the inmates said they spit only when provoked or abused.