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CCPD implementing new tools to combat opioid overdose

Posted at 5:14 AM, May 01, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-01 06:14:41-04

CORPUS CHRISTI – Every day, more than 100 people in the United States die from an opioid overdose. 

“It’s your common pain killers. Morphine, methadone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl."

That’s why the Corpus Christi Police Department is joining the ranks of dozens of other departments around the nation carrying Narcan in their emergency medical bags.

Narcan is a nasal spray that can counteract an opioid overdose in minutes. 

The fire department and EMS have carried a similar solution for years, but sometimes officers are first to arrive on scene and need to act quickly.

“We are training the whole entire department on how to use the Narcan spray to easily combat that out in the field, especially if there’s no help available immediately,” Sr. Officer Catherine McDonald said.

Officer McDonald said the Narcan solution is easy to administer.

“You just press the little plunger straight up and you wait two to three minutes and see if they come to, and if they don’t come to, they actually carry a second dosage,” Officer McDonald said.

She added that the department’s purchase of Narcan did not come from CCPD’s budget.

“The Narcan was purchased with drug funds… money that was seized during operations dealing with drugs. Then we turned it into something good for the department as well as for the community,” Officer McDonald said.

At this time, 272 patrol officers carry two doses of Narcan. The eventual goal is that all 300 patrol officers will carry the nasal spray in their “go-bag.”