Suffolk County to release shocking drug report

  Eyewitness NewsSUFFOLK COUNTY (WABC) -- Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota will unveil a 98-page Grand Jury report Thursday detailing astonishing statistics of an epic drug crisis on Long Island.

Eyewitness News has exclusively obtained a copy of the report.

Months ago, in response to the Father's Day 2011 massacre at Medford's Haven Drugs, Spota empanelled a special grand jury to look into the problems of opiate abuse and doctor shopping. The investigation has yielded indictments against 26 people, for the following:

Sale and possession of controlled substances Vehicular assault Vehicular manslaughter Driving while ability impaired Criminal possession of forged instrument

Perhaps more important than the indictments are the startling numbers detailed in the report, including the following:

Between 2006 and 2010, Suffolk heroin arrests rose 170 percent, from 486 to 1,315. Suffolk County has seen 70 percent more prescriptions for oxycodone than the average for any other state. Between 2004 and 2011, the number of overdose victims with oxycodone in their blood jumped 266 percent. In the same time period, the number of overdose deaths attributed to opioids increased 69 percent. Between 1996 and 2011, the Suffolk County Drug Court treatment program saw a 425 percent increase in heroin abuse, and a 1,136 percent increase in opioid pill abuse.

The report goes on to make a series of recommendations for how to reverse the trend, including statutory and regulatory changes at the federal, state and local levels; modifying the FDA process of authorizing prescription opioids for manufacturing, marketing, and labeling; and at the state level enacting E-Prescribing rather than written prescriptions.

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Shocking video of girls' beating at school

Web produced by Bill King and Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsBRONX (WABC) -- Both teachers and school safety officers are being investigated for standing by and not lifting a finger to stop a bloody brawl in the Bronx.

The fight video, taken at Eximius Preparatory Academy, only lasts a minute. But for any parent who sees their child getting kicked, punched and bitten, the chaos that one minute video feels like a lifetime.

"After I seen the video, I was really destroyed," the victim's mother, Tjuana Thomas said. "How could they? I could understand if it was a one on one, but it's like so many kids just pounding away."

In the video, Thomas' daughter is seen standing top on a school cafeteria table when another student leaps up and starts pounding on the 15-year-old sophomore.

They both fall to the floor, and that's when four more girls jump in, kicking and punching.

"One of the boys at my school tried to pull me off of her," the girl said. "He tried to stop the fight, but she still had my hair."

Thomas did not want her daughter to be identified. The teen says she's been bullied by a group of girls since she transferred to the school four months ago.

She says this fight started because she confronted another student who was bullying her by throwing water on her, and then she was surrounded by a group of girls.

"I got on the table because they were coming around me," she said. "So they won't hit me."

One classmate came to her defense, only to catch the most vicious brunt of the beating. That girl tried to hide under a table, but she was savagely dragged out and kicked and punched in the face.

"I feel happy that she helped me," Thomas' daughter said. "But I feel bad that they all jumped on her."

The controversy is heightened by the video, which shows two NYPD school safety officers walk into the room as the fight starts. But they are not seen at any time trying to break it up.

"I thought you were there to protect the children?" Thomas said.

"The school cafeteria people pulled me away," the teen said. "I don't know [where the school officers were]."

NYPD officials say school safety agents are supposed to intervene during fights and have the power to make arrests. They're looking into why this may not have happened.

Three girls were arrested on misdemeanor assault, riot and disorderly conduct charges.

Thomas' daughter was suspended for five days, but says she will not return to the school.

The Department of Education says that the students are being disciplined and that the matter is being investigated.

They also said that the bullying was never reported.

Thomas' daughter says that she didn't report the bullying because she was afraid.

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »

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