Fulton jail staff will have Narcan for OD suspects

Under new policy, unconscious must be taken to hospital.

The Fulton County jail is providing Narcan for use to its medical staff after a nurse refused to provide aid to an “unconscious” and “possibly overdosing” suspect.

“We want to make sure we let the community know that we’re responsive to the needs of the citizens and that’s the reason why we made the decision,” Fulton County sheriff Lt. Col. Derrick Singleton told Channel 2 Action News.

The change comes a little more than a month after Sandy Springs police arrested Wayman Allen Keller, Jr. on suspicion of drug use, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Keller was unresponsive and thought to have been overdosing when he was taken to jail.

Channel 2 obtained surveillance footage that showed an officer pulling Keller from the back of a patrol car. At one point, a nurse came out of the North Fulton jail annex and went back inside without administering aid.

Alpharetta police were called for assistance before Keller was taken to the hospital.

According to the Fulton sheriff’s office, those arrested who are “very ill” must be treated at a hospital and cleared before being booked into the jail.

The suspect must also remain in the custody of the arresting agency, which is charged with getting the person medical attention.

Singleton told Channel 2 the nurse followed procedure and did what she could at the time.

“She advised the officer he needed to take that subject to a medical facility,” Singleton said.

Narcan will be provided at the jail and its two annexes, Channel 2 reported.