City police will get spray to counter overdoses
Following in the steps of Vancouver, Calgary police will soon equip officers with a powerful drug used to counter opioid overdoses.
In his monthly update to the Calgary Police Commission, Chief Roger Chaffin told the citizen oversight body that the deadly drug fentanyl continues to plague the city, and he’s hopeful the naloxone nasal spray units will help save lives.
“It’s good news for the officers, it’s something that is our new reality, and it’s a good opportunity to make sure officers are comfortable that if they are in a situation, we can recover (drug users),” Chaffin said.
Earlier this month, Vancouver officials announced that the risk and the prevalence of the drug on the streets meant it was necessary to equip police officers with something that could save lives.
The nasal spray would allow officers to treat a person overdosing without the use of needles, something typically handled by paramedics, said Chaffin.
“You wouldn’t just throw them (naloxone filled needles) at police and say start injecting people,” he said.
However, Calgary police must be able to step in and administer the naloxone dose if an ambulance is too far away from the scene.
In the first six months of 2016, 153 people died from fentanyl-related complications across Alberta, including 61 in Calgary.
Chaffin agreed with the sentiment of his West Coast counterparts and believes other law-enforcement agencies across Canada will soon follow suit.
“Right across the country, agencies will be accessing this. Since it’s a federal release, we will be taking advantage of it,” he said.
However, Chaffin isn’t suggesting that the model followed by Calgary will be adopted across Alberta, as rural police units face their own unique challenges.
You wouldn’t just throw them (naloxone-filled needles) at police and say start injecting people.