Police departments undecided on life-saving medication
A federal grant has made it possible for all Missouri law enforcement agencies to use a life-saving drug at little to no cost, but many have not taken up the offer.
Narcan, the brand name for the drug naloxone, is a nasal spray that can prevent or reverse an opioid overdose. In 2016, the federal government began providing money to fund the state’s effort to get the drug into the hands of law enforcement in the St. Louis area. In 2018, the program was expanded to be statewide, said Lisa Cox, a spokeswoman with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The department’s effort is called the Missouri Overdose Rescue and Education (MORE) project.
So far, the drug has a consistent record of saving lives. Narcan has been used 3,011 times since December 2016, and in 2,748 of those cases, or 91 percent, the patient survived the overdose, Cox said.
The department has reports on 2,847 of those uses, and tracked who administered the medication in each case:
Emergency medical services: 673 Police: 467 Fire crews: 101 Other emergency responders: 34 A friend: 1078 A partner/spouse: 142 A clinician/provider: 47 A parent: 39 Another family member: 67 A stranger: 133 Someone else: 66 Reports with missing/unsure naloxone administration data: 60
The health department uses the grant to offer the drug as well as training to law enforcement departments for no cost. Only 195 police and sheriff’s deparments — less than a third of the total — have taken up on the state’s offer.
ABC 17 News spoke with four law enforcment departments in Cole and Callaway counties about their policy on Narcan. Three of the departments do not require their officers to carry the drug and one recently started.
Cole County Sheriff’s Office
After more than a year of discussion, every Cole County sheriff’s deputy started carrying Narcan at the beginning of March. Sheriff John Wheeler said the change immediately proved to be worthwhile.
“If we get one save, then I know the good lord was listening and I did what I was supposed to do,” Wheeler said. “In five days we had our first save.”
On March 6, Cole County deputies saved the life of a 22-year old woman who was overdosing on opioids. The deputy on scene administered one dose of Narcan before an ambulance arrived, and the woman began breathing normally, according to a department news release.
The department got its second save on April 16 after both deputies and medical responders used a total of three doses on an individual. Deputies administered the first two before medical responders arrived.
“If we wouldn’t have got there first with the first two hits, then I don’t believe that person would be alive today,” Wheeler said.
The decision was not easy, Wheeler said. He said he initially did not want to require deputies to carry Narcan because of the variety of responsibilities they already have.
“We keep asking our law enforcement to do more and more. We keep asking them to it with less and less,” Wheeler said. “We’re getting overwhelmed.”
Even though the department did not pay for the drug or training, it did pay about $1,400 for ankle straps. The straps allow deputies to have the required two doses on their person at all times.
Wheeler said adding Narcan to their equipment was a lengthy process that included legal consultations, policy writing and more. He said he expects the drug to become more popular with law enforcement agencies.
“I don’t think every department will carry it. I will say that you’ll see more and more departments carry it,” Wheeler said.
Fulton Police Department
Narcan has been, and will likely continue to be, a topic of discussion in Fulton.
Last week, the Fulton City Council voted in favor of the city fire department carrying Narcan.
Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers said the department is actively discussion Narcan and whether to carry it. He told ABC 17 News that Narcan is available to the community through other emergency responders such as the Callaway County Ambulance District.
“We just feel like at this time we don’t need to carry it because the ambulance, and now the fire department will be carrying it,” Myers said.
Still, Myers said officers are at risk when investigating drug crimes. There is a possibility that officers expose themselves to an opioid accidentally and experience an overdose, Myers said.
“If our officers were doing a search of something and they come across fantanyl for instance, it goes into the skin and into the system extremely fast,” Myers said. “At that point the ambulance may not be on scene.”
Callaway County Sheriff’s Department
Sheriff Clay Chism said he supports the discussion about Narcan, but he is undecided on whether his deputies should carry it. He said it’s a complicated decision partly because it’s a new challenge.
“Law enforcement has not been in the medical services arena,” Chism said.
While deputies are trained in first aid, Chism said adding Narcan could place more liability on the department and its deputies. It also adds to the role of law enforcement in the field.
“It’s never been that we just walk into a scene and look at the guy on the floor and not do anything, that’s not been the case,” Chism said. “What comes up with Narcan, though, is the actual administering of some kind of medication.”
Although the drug and training are offered for free, the department still would need to figure out how the deputies would carry the doses of Narcan.
Whether it’s carried on their person or kept in their cars, Chism said they need to consider the recommended storage temperature for the drug as well as other factors.
“I don’t want to make a knee-jerk decision. I think knee-jerk decisions get administrators in trouble,” Chism said.
In the last few weeks, Chism said he has met with his legal counsel to discuss carrying Narcan, and that the conversation is ongoing.
“Regardless of whether my deputies carry Narcan or not, my No. 1 priority will always be enforcing the drug laws of the state in Callaway County,” Chism said.
Jefferson City Police Department
Department leaders in Jefferson City are not considering adding Narcan to their equipment, partly because of the nearby departments that do, JCPD Lt. David Williams said.
“We’re not carrying it and we’re not planning to at this time,” Williams said. “I have the upmost confidence in our fire department. They’re there when we need them, just as we are there when they need us.”
Neighboring departments with Narcan include the Jefferson City Fire Department, Cole County EMS, and more recently, the Cole County Sheriff’s Department.
Williams said the department is focused on safety, and ensuring that other responders are safe to administer the medication to anyone suffering from an overdose.
“If it’s an unsafe situation it doesn’t matter what tool (JCFD) or EMS bring with them. We have to make it as safe as we can so they can respond.”
When asked if it would be simpler to have officers carry Narcan as well, Williams said, “It would be more simple for people to not overdose on illicit narcotics. That would be the simpler thing.”
JCPD Chief Roger Schroeder did not respond to a request for an interview.
