Deputy sues Shelby County Sheriff Office
A Shelby County deputy and his wife are suing the Shelby County Sheriff's Office after he accidentally overdosed on fentanyl last year after completing an operation, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday.
On July 31, 2018, Charles Eldridge, a narcotics officer with the department, was driving in a department issued vehicle with confiscated fentanyl and seized money that was contaminated with the drug following a narcotics operation, according to the lawsuit.
While the fentanyl was sealed, the seized money was not. When Eldridge was on his way the sheriff's office he began to overdose and had to pull over his vehicle, the lawsuit says.
He called for help from his narcotics team while he tried to treat the overdose with narcan. When his team found him he was taken to Baptist East and later released after several hours of observation, according to the lawsuit.
Eldridge went to duty the next day and had a normal work day while the sheriff's department cleaned out his vehicle of the drug, according to the lawsuit.
Two weeks later after the overdose, on Aug. 15, 2018, Eldridge began experiencing the same symptoms after he turned the air conditioning on in the same issued vehicle that the department told him was decontaminated.
He had to go to Baptist East again where he had multiple doses of narcan and was under observation. After the second release, he began experiencing suicidal thoughts, panic attacks and anxiety. The lawsuit says this was as a result of the department's negligence and reckless disregard.
He went to get psychological treatment from the department's thirdparty on-the-job injury policy administrator but received delayed care and did not get adequate treatment, according to the lawsuit.
Eldridge joined the department on Sept. 2, 1997.
The sheriff 's office was unable to provide comment on the pending litigation.