Delco police save more than 1,000 lives with Narcan

Delaware County is officially the only county in the state to have its law enforcement officers save over 1,000 lives with the use of the opioid-antagonist drug Naloxone (Narcan).

County spokeswoman Emily Harris confirmed Friday that 1,050 overdose reversals have been made since November 2014 when police officers were legally permitted to administer the lifesaving drug under David’s Law. The figure is higher than the 989 reversals the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs reported as of Jan. 25.

“Delaware County has outstanding police officers who use the life-saving drug Narcan to give those suffering from this life-threatening addiction a second chance,” said District Attorney Katayoun Copeland on Friday. “Every day, our police officers are literally bringing people back to life, who are then referred to (the county’s) Certified Recovery Specialists to assist them in obtaining treatment for their debilitating opioid addiction. Since the program’s inception, and as a result of a partnership with our police, more than 1,000 lives have been saved.”

Using the most recent state information there have been 6,456 reversals in Pennsylvania by law enforcement officers since late 2014. Outside of the approximately 1,000 in the county, Allegheny had the second highest number with 666 and York in third with 593. Only 121 of these saves have been attributed to the Pennsylvania State Police.

Delaware County may have the highest number of reversals, but it does not have the highest death total attributed to drug use.

The Pennsylvania Coroner’s Association most upto-date information reports Philadelphia having the most such deaths of any county in 2016 with 907. Allegheny County was runner up with 648 while Montgomery County had 249 confirmed deaths.

According to Harris, there were 271 drug deaths in the county last year, 240 of them opioid-related. Results in 24 cases are pending toxicology results. The coroner’s association reports 231 drug-related deaths in the county