Hamilton officer feared opioid exposure

Had to call 911; service doesn’t carry antidote

A police officer who feared he’d been exposed to a deadly opioid had to wait for firefighters to arrive with the antidote because Hamilton police aren’t allowed to carry it.

The officer, who works in the identification unit at headquarters, was processing evidence at 5:15 p.m. Sunday when he touched what he thought was fentanyl or its more lethal kin, carfentanil. Merely touching those substances to skin can cause a fatal overdose. But administering a quick dose of naloxone to counteract it can be life-saving.

That’s why every front line OPP officer in the province carries it. And all police in Peterborough, Barrie and Durham. And why pharmacies will hand it out to nearly anyone who wants it for free. It’s also why last week the province announced it will pay for every police officer and firefighter in Ontario to be equipped with it.

Yet Hamilton police officers — who work in a city experts say has epidemic levels of opioid abuse — are prohibited from carrying it. They cannot even have it with them to save their own life or that of a fellow officer, let alone a member of the public who is in distress.

In this case, 911 was called and firefighters, who carry naloxone for their own protection, were first to arrive. Hamilton Police Service Deputy Chief Dan Kinsella says they handed the naloxone to the officer, who gave himself the injection before EMS took him to hospital.

As recently as last week the Hamilton Fire Department said it had never used its naloxone.

Later it was determined the substance was not an opioid, but rather cocaine. The officer was fine. There are no negative side-effects of naloxone even when there hasn’t been an opioid overdose.

But think about this for a moment. Of all the public buildings in Hamilton, police headquarters would rank near the top of those with the greatest potential for exposure to fentanyl or carfentanil. (The other police stations and the courthouse would be right up there, too.) Some police employees — drug officers, the ID unit, staff in the cell area — are dealing with opioids all the time. Hamilton Police Association president Clint Twolan has said each uniformed squad deals with an average of three fentanyl overdoses per shift. Though they take all the right precautions, such as double-gloving,

that still might not be enough.

We’ve equipped them with body armour to protect themselves — why not naloxone? It’s just another aspect of officer safety.

“This is exactly why we need the kits,” says Twolan, in reference to Sunday’s incident.

“We just don’t know what we’re dealing with on a case-by-case basis.”

Not only could having naloxone as part of an officer’s standard equipment save lives, it could also provide peace of mind knowing it is within reach, Twolan says. Makes sense to me. However, Kinsella sees it another way.

“The protocol worked in this case certainly,” he says. Firefighters and paramedics are trained to carry and administer naloxone and so “the right people are doing the job.”

I would argue that what actually worked in this case was the lucky fact that it wasn’t an opioid exposure at all.

Twolan and Kinsella say the incident will be fully reviewed by the health and safety committee to determine if changes need to be made.

The province’s recent announcement about outfitting all first responders with naloxone is short on details for now, but it does seem to wipe out cost as an excuse for not allowing Hamilton officers to carry it. However, Chief Eric Girt has previously raised other concerns, including the possibility that an officer who administers naloxone to someone who dies could be investigated by the province’s Special Investigations Unit which probes all deaths, serious injuries and allegations of sexual assault involving police officers.

In response to the funding announcement, Hamilton police issued a noncommittal statement that said “there is still a need to review details relating to supplies, storage and appropriate administration of the drug.”

Meanwhile, the risk to our officers is frighteningly real.

The protocol worked in this case certainly ... the right people are doing the job. DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF DAN KINSELLA