Assemblyman Rob Clifton (R-12 Monmouth, Middlesex, Ocean and Burlington) renewed his call for legislative action today on his bill (A3104) that would protect the lives and well-being on police officers and EMS personnel who administer NARCAN or similar opioid antidotes. The bill would require drug users who are treated for overdoses to undergo blood testing for infectious disease if an officer or first responder was exposed to bodily fluid.
“Every day, our police and EMS workers risk their health responding to drug-related emergencies,” said Clifton. “Narcan has been administered more than 18,000 times in this state since 2014. When the drug is administered, and during the resuscitation of the endangered user, contact with blood or digestive liquids is a common occurrence.”
Bill Bucco, Acting Assistant Director of the Monmouth County Division of Addiction Services.
Two Ocean Township Police Officers saved the life of a 25 year old man late Tuesday night by administering two doses of Narcan, the antidote for heroin overdoses that New Jersey law enforcement officers have been authorized to administer since July.
Officers Randy Slawsky and Zachary Rhein of the Ocean Police Department responded to a reported overdose at an apartment located on Rustic Drive. Upon arrival, officers located a 25 year old male unresponsive in the living room of the home. A family member reported that they believed the victim had ingested heroin prior to being found unconscious.
Officers on scene administered two doses of Naloxone Hydrochloride (Narcan) resulting in the victim becoming conscious and responsive. The victim was speaking with officers immediately prior to being transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Officers and EMS personnel credit the use of the Narcan in saving the man’s life.
Narcan Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Marc LeMieux demonstrates how Narcan is administered. FREEHOLD – Monmouth County has become the second county in New Jersey to train every police officer with the opioid antidote Naloxone, also…
West Long Branch Police Chief Larry Mihlon: ..”the deadly nature of heroin doesn’t care who you are…It just kills you”
Transcript
West Long Branch Police Chief Larry Mihlon:As a police officer, you never really think about that this is going to hit you at home. Well, April 13th of 2013, the Long Branch Police Department responded to a call of a 22-year old young man who had stopped breathing and had no pulse. That young man was in my house because it was my son. The reason why I put myself out here and I relate this story in public is that I think it’s extremely important for people to realize that the heroin epidemic and the deadly nature of heroin doesn’t care who you are. It doesn’t care what your father does. It doesn’t care whether there are good parents or bad parents. It doesn’t care if you’re a good kid or a bad kid. It just kills you. This rollout of Narcan, in my eyes, is another fantastic tool for law enforcement to do the other mission that law enforcement has and that is to save peoples’ lives.
