Drug evidence causes overdose in officer

A Columbus police officer was released from a local hospital hours after being administered Narcan following exposure to a white powder on the dash of his police cruiser.

Officer Jeffrey Cain, 49, who has been with the division since 2011, was collecting evidence Sunday after two other officers approached a woman who admitted to police she was about to snort a white powdered substance off a cellphone with a straw, records show. The woman was sitting in a Ford Focus parked at the Pilot Flying J Travel Center at 3600 Interchange Road, which is off Wilson Road near Interstate 70, just after 5 p.m.

After other officers confronted 43-year-old Danielle Vance, Cain collected the cellphone, which had a narrow line of white powder. He placed the phone on the dash of the police cruiser when he suddenly began experiencing symptoms of an overdose.

Cain was administered Narcan, which blocks the effects of an opioid overdose, and was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center for treatment. He was released later Sunday, said Sgt. Dean Worthington, a public information officer for the Columbus Division of Police.

Vance told officers she thought the substance was an “Icer,” a mix of methamphetamine and another, unknown drug.

She was charged with misdemeanor possession of a drug-abuse instrument and pleaded guilty this week. Franklin County Municipal Judge Jarrod B. Skinner gave her credit for two days spent in jail and released her.