Osceola cops to donate seized cash to drug-treatment efforts

Law enforcement agencies in Osceola County announced a new initiative Friday to donate nearly $30,000 in seized funds from narcotics-related cases to charities that support people recovering from opioid addiction.

The Osceola County Investigative Bureau’s Charitable Giving Initiative — a collaboration between the sheriff’s office, the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s office and the St. Cloud and Kissimmee police departments to combat drug-trafficking — is an effort to curb opioid-related deaths in the area.

“It’s now sadly nearly a daily occurrence that our deputies right here in Osceola County are responding to an overdose call or an untimely death caused by an overdose to one of our citizens due to an extremely dangerous and addictive drug,” said Osceola Sheriff Russ Gibson at a press conference.

The organizations that will benefit from the seized money include: The Transition House; Park Place Behavioral Health Care; and Aspire Health Partners.

“We want to give those folks the opportunity to not just physically recover but be able to take their recovery well into their future,” said Christine Falkowski, marketing director for The Transition House.

Gibson — who was joined by Kissimmee police chief Jeff O’Dell and Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala — said 25 percent of forfeiture funds seized by local authorities have to be given to charities, according to state law.

Robert Holborn, general counsel for the Sheriff ’s Office, said that although the money has always been given to charitable causes, the initiative is the first coordinated approach among the three agencies to support charities that provide drug treatment.

Gibson also said that since Osceola County deputies began carrying Narcan in September 2017, the overdose-reversing drug has been used 26 times, saving 20 lives.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, in 2016 there were over 5,700 opioidrelated deaths in the state.