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YPD training all officers to use Narcan
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
City police officers are learning how to use a drug that combats symptoms of a heroin overdose.
All members of the department’s patrol division began receiving training last month in the use of Narcan, a trade name for naloxone, which several area police departments and ambulance companies use to try to revive someone who is in the throes of a heroin overdose.
The department is working in conjunction with Rural Metro ambulance and Meridian Health Care, which donated 10 kits to the department. Capt. Kevin Mercer, who is in charge of the training, said the kits will be placed with supervisors, who will be called to the scene of any potential overdose.
Mercer said whenever there is an overdose, a supervisor is always called to the scene, as well as a regular patrol officer.
Some of the signs someone may need the drug include not breathing or having difficulty breathing and being warm to the touch, Mercer said.
“We’ll [administer] it ourselves if we don’t have time to wait for a paramedic,” Mercer said.
Police departments and medical personnel have said that heroin use has been on the rise recently in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and more and more frequently officers are answering calls for drug activity and finding people passed out from drug use. The version officers will be using comes in a nasal spray. The drug helps to combat an overdose by improving the low levels of respiration a person experiences while suffering from an overdose.
Mercer said research by Meridan Arms shows the rate of overdose deaths can be cut if the drug is used.
“It just makes sense for us to have it because we respond to scenes so quickly,” Mercer said.
Police Chief Robin Lees said that unlike outlying departments that sometimes have to wait for an ambulance because of the distances in the areas they cover, city officers often do not have to wait long for paramedics. Still, he said, city officers should have quick access to Narcan because often they arrive at an overdose before an ambulance crew and they may not have time to wait.
“Like anything else, it’s a resource,” Lees said. “We’re often first on the scene. If we can save somebody’s life, I think we should be prepared to do that.” Lees said he does not anticipate his officers having to use Narcan frequently but added, “It’s an option we should give the officers.”
The department may get more of the kits in the future, Lees said. He wants to see how often they are used before trying to secure more, he said.
Mercer said the training for the officers is almost done. He has been training all three shifts by attending their roll calls and performing the training there.