Officers honored for saving overdose victims

Officers Chris Johnson, Nancy Bruno win Marina PD’s Overdose Lifesaving Awards at City Council meeting. PAGE

MARINA >> Officers Chris Johnson and Nancy Bruno were awarded the Marina Police Department’s Overdose Lifesaving Awards at a City Council meeting Wednesday for administering naloxone to subjects who were overdosing.

“Based on their actions there is no doubt that Officers Chris Johnson and Nancy Bruno saved the lives of the persons they assisted,” Cmdr. Donna White said in a press release.

Johnson administered naloxone from his department-issued kit July 23, 2019, and Bruno administered naloxone Dec. 7, 2019.

“Both officers showed outstanding observational skills and decisiveness in determining the nature of the medical emergencies they were presented with and then administering Narcan, from their Department issued kits, to the subjects when they determined the subjects were overdosing,” White said.

According to the Marina Police Department, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids every day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of health care, lost productivity, addiction treatment and criminal justice involvement.

The entire Marina Police Department was trained to carry and administer naloxone, an emergency medicine used to prevent the lethal effects of opioid overdoses in unresponsive individuals. The Marina Police Department is part of the Prescribe Safe Monterey County effort, which brings together providers, government and law enforcement to promote safe use of opioids in our region.