Keeping track of ODs a challenge
Prosecutors in Dayton area see problems with Good Samaritan law.
Prosecutors in southwest Ohio say a new law providing immunity to people seeking medical assistance for a drug overdose is causing challenges for their offices, including difficulty in keeping track of who has overdosed before.
The 911 Good Samaritan law allows a person immunity two times — “two bites of the apple,” Greene County Prosecutor Stephen Haller said. But without pressing charges, prosecutors have said it is difficult to keep track of who received immunity two times before their third overdose.
Ohio’s 911 Good Samaritan law took effect in September, offering immunity to people seeking medical assistance for a drug overdose. Under the law, people who experienced a drug overdose or called for help for another person qualify for immunity if they seek a screening and received a referral for addiction treatment from a local provider.
“In the past before that all became effective, it would be a matter of course that anyone who overdosed on any opiate” may face felony possession charges, Haller said. “As a result of the new law, if they or someone on their behalf calls 911 or stops a police officer or seeks help, they don’t get charged, at least at first.”
“Putting it into practice has proven a little more difficult,” Haller said, noting it is hard to determine whether a person who overdosed in Greene County may have overdosed before in another of Ohio’s 88 counties.
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said in a statement his office met with police and city prosecutors and reached a consensus after the passage of the “so-called” Good Samaritan law that “prosecutors would continue to investigate and prosecute cases in which persons overdosed.”
“If the person verifies they sought a referral for treatment as provided in the law, charges must be dismissed,” Heck said. “Of course, in the event the suspect has committed an offense other than a minor drug abuse offense, they will be arrested and prosecuted, as (the Good Samaritan law) would be inapplicable.”
Some communities are turning to charging persons who overdose with inducing panic. Middletown Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw said the number of overdoses in his city delays police response times and sometimes induces panic, especially with more drug overdoses happening in fast-food restaurant bathrooms and retail parking lots.
That’s a route some other communities occasionally take, prosecutors said.
“Last year, we had someone overdose at a fast food restaurant here in town,” said Christine Burk, the prosecutor in Miamisburg, German Twp. and Miami Twp. “The restaurant had to shut down for over an hour. Nobody could get in or get out, so we charged them with inducing panic.”
In Clark County, residents who overdose on opioids may face drug possession charges if they don’t seek treatment, according to a new policy from Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson.
“It’s just absolutely unbelievable,” he said. “We can’t continue to let people just walk in and out free to abuse themselves. It takes a toll on the system ... We’ve got to do something to force these folks into treatment.”
Wilson said people who overdose can walk out of the emergency room with no future requirements for treatment.
“It’s just not working,” he said. “You have people who are signing out against medical advice from the ER and they’re back within a day, two days or three days and they’re overdosing again ... We can’t keep doing the same thing with no results.”
Law enforcement officers should be able to charge people who overdose immediately, Clark County Sheriff Deb Burchett said. The Good Samaritan law is too lenient on users, she said. Charging overdose patients with drug possession right away wouldn’t overcrowd the county jail because it’s already overcrowded, Burchett said.
But not all law enforcement agree. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said he doesn’t “have space for all the violent criminals,” let alone “heroin users and people who smoke pot.”
“These people are not afraid of death. The fear of jail will mean nothing to them,” Jones said, noting his belief that catching potential users early and teaching them not to use is a better option.
“People get out of my jail and shoot up in the parking lot,” he said. “Getting arrested just isn’t something they care about. I call it ‘happy talk.’ It may make people feel better, but it just doesn’t work.”