City police investigators examined in hospital
Drug investigators were taken to hospital, examined and released shortly after
Two drug investigators handling a fentanyl seizure were examined in hospital after they reported feeling ill, an Edmonton Police Service official said Monday.
As far as deputy chief Kevin Brezinski knows, it is the service’s first case of fentanyl contamination, which in other jurisdictions has reportedly led to first responders accidentally overdosing.
“It’s definitely concerning,” Brezinski said at a public event Monday afternoon.
“I know it’s happening across the world, but we do have precautions and measures in place to ensure our members are safe.
“Unfortunately, in these circumstances, they were exposed to a substance unknowingly and then later taken to hospital.”
Brezinski said the case happened in the past week when the two officers — both of whom were wearing gloves and taking other precautions — handled a container that had been used to store fentanyl.
A short time later, the officers reported feeling nauseous and had elevated heart rates.
They were examined in hospital and released shortly after.
Brezinski’s comments came hours before a Monday afternoon police call where three officers responding to a mental health complaint at a non-profit near 115 Avenue and 71 Street were potentially exposed to a powder initially thought to be fentanyl.
Police spokeswoman Cheryl Sheppard later said the officers were fine and that Hazmat crews were called in for cleanup.
According to government of Alberta statistics, 80 fatal overdoses linked to fentanyl were recorded in Edmonton in the first half of this year. Another 118 people in the city died from the drug in 2016.
A report to the Edmonton Police Commission last week said the city police drug and gang unit has seized 65,855 fentanyl pills and 8.2 kg of powder in 2017, up from just 655 pills last year.
On Monday, police announced the seizure of another 24 grams of fentanyl and carfentanil as part of a month-long drugs and prostitution investigation.
Many first-responder agencies redoubled efforts to prevent fentanyl contamination after the viral story of an Ohio police officer who nearly died after reportedly touching a grain of the potent opioid.
But others have questioned the story.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control, for example, says that fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes, but notes there have been “no verified cases” of overdoses or sickness in first responders or health-care workers.