Just over a year ago, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office became the first law enforcement agency in Minnesota to have its deputies carry the drug naloxone, which can reverse the fatal overdose effects of heroin.
The decision to lead the state in this effort was a no-brainer, said Sheriff Rich Stanek. In 2008, there were six overdose deaths related to heroin use in the county; four years later, that number had climbed to 56.
Stanek worked to create a law allowing police officers to carry naloxone, and since then at least a half dozen metro-area law enforcement agencies have agreed to use the drug.
Before the law change, only paramedics could administer the drug. Naloxone can now be given to patients by squirting a mist into their nose.
"If you told me a decade ago that deputies would have a tourniquet or other lifesaving equipment in squad cars, I wouldn't have believed it," Stanek said. "Carrying naloxone is the right thing to do."
This week, the National Sheriffs' Association and Purdue Pharma announced a $350,000 grant to train officers in how to use naloxone. Stanek said no law enforcement agency should argue that having such a valuable tool is cost prohibitive; training is relatively inexpensive and each dose of naloxone is about $40, he said.
In February, Deputy Sheri Bukkila and a Corcoran police officer saved an overdose victim with naloxone. It was the sheriff's office first success story.
One problem for officers carrying naloxone is that the drug must be kept at room temperature, and most squads are heated all the way through, said Stanek. Some police chiefs contend that their counties have excellent ambulance service that reaches victims quicker. "But bad weather will slow down any vehicle," he said.
