Police officers equipped with naloxone kits save lives: RCMP

While emergency medical personnel respond to the bulk of drug overdose calls, RCMP and municipal police are increasingly drawn into the fray as the opioid crisis continues to take its toll on Alberta.

Postmedia has obtained preliminary data on how frequently RCMP members are administering naloxone on the job.

Alberta RCMP members have administered naloxone — an antidote used to reverse the effects of fentanyl and other powerful opioids — a total of three times since officers were provided with the nasal spray kits last October.

The information comes as Edmonton fire Chief Ken Block said this week his department is rolling out naloxone kits and associated training on a station-by-station basis immediately. Edmonton police are also contemplating whether to provide more patrol officers with naloxone.

Across Canada, RCMP have administered the antidote 79 times since October. On just six of those occasions the victim of the overdose didn’t make it.

“I don’t think we can understate how bad it is. This is a crisis that is affecting all of Alberta,” said RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters.

“Certainly there is value in police officers carrying the antidote. Two individuals in the province are alive as a result, including one of our own officers.”

The occasions RCMP officers in Alberta have administered the antidote have been few but significant, including when officers were called upon to treat one of their own who accidentally overdosed while executing a search warrant at a drug lab on Dec. 30 in Grande Prairie.

The other two incidents occurred in southern Alberta, generally considered to be the hardest hit area of the province.

On Jan. 28, an RCMP officer in the midst of a call at a Red Deer address became aware of a totally unrelated person suffering from an overdose nearby and were able to administer the antidote before EMS could even arrive.

And on Dec. 3 in Pincher Creek, RCMP officers were flagged down at the side of the road to help someone suffering from an overdose in a vehicle.

The victim in that case did not survive.