Narcan: A Life-Saving Tool
PICTURED ABOVE
Department of Criminal Justice Training Instructor Walt Ridener said officers should use Narcan when they can save a life, and are protected by the Good Samaritan Law. (Photo by Jim Robertson)
Anytime a law enforcement officer responds to a call, their lives are potentially in danger. Often, the threats are visible – the suspect, a weapon, or the potential of a vehicle accident.
Some of the dangers are not as obvious. Those could be a syringe hidden under a seat or inside a suspect’s pocket. Or, the danger could be hidden inside an illegal substance, such as an opioid, that has the potential to absorb through the officer’s skin resulting in a potentially fatal overdose.
According to the 2019 Kentucky Overdose Fatality Report, fentanyl (an opioid) was involved in 759 cases, approximately 58% of all overdose deaths for the year.
Acetyl fentanyl was involved in 419 cases, approximately 32% of all overdose deaths for the year.
Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues are the deadliest drugs and most addictive drugs our nation has ever seen. They are powerful synthetic opioids that are similar to morphine, but are 50 to 100 times more potent.
Avoiding Danger
It’s a clear and present danger that law enforcement faces. Many Kentucky agencies now allow their officers to carry Naloxone, more commonly known by the brand name, NARCAN.
The Nicholasville Police Department is one of those agencies.
NPD began its NARCAN program in 2017, and since it began, its officers have administered it to more than 220 individuals, including 83 in 2020.
“The decision to have each of our officers carry NARCAN was based on the dangers to our officers responding to overdoses and other drug-related crimes,” NPD Capt. Michael Fleming said. “With the increase in Opioid exposures among first responders across the nation, we felt it necessary to protect our officers by making sure they each had the NARCAN on their person at all times.”
The number of instances in Nicholasville was so numerous that the department changed how it recognizes officers who administer NARCAN to save someone’s life.
“After the first year, we realized that we were saving many lives with NARCAN, and we couldn't possibly present Distinguished Service awards to every officer who saved a life in this way,” Fleming said. “We make a point to acknowledge and praise our officers for having the compassion to continually administer Naloxone to overdose victims, especially when they use it to save the same person multiple times.”
Good Samaritan Law
Despite the dangers, many agencies in the state are still reluctant to supply their officers with Naloxone, according to Van Ingram, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Policy.
“We have some agencies around the state who are not carrying Naloxone because they are concerned about liability involved,” Ingram said. “The statutes are pretty clear that there is civil and criminal immunity for any good faith use of Naloxone.”
DOCJT Legal Training Section Supervisor Doug Barnett agreed.
“(The law) states that a person acting in good faith who administers naloxone under the provisions of KRS 217.186 shall be immune from criminal and civil liability for the administration, unless personal injury results from the gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct of the person administering the drug,” Barnett explained. “This would offer protection for law enforcement officers when they use the drug in good faith, having been properly trained to use Naloxone, and having no intent to cause harm.”
With many agencies allowing its officers to carry the drug, it begs what happens if they don’t administer the drug to a citizen who may be overdosing.
DOCJT Instructor Walt Ridener said if an agency allows its officers to carry the life-saving drug, but elects not to use it for citizens who may be overdosing, it could open Pandora’s box.
“If you can carry it and you don’t, and someone dies, or if you have it on you, but you don’t use it, that is where you’re going to lose,” Ridener said. “You’re going to lose in the court of public opinion.”
Ridener, an advanced investigative techniques and advanced individual training instructor since 2015, teaches in-service and basic law enforcement courses dealing with the dangers of opioids and includes the benefits of using Naloxone.
Ridener designed the curriculum in 2015 when he first joined the Department of Criminal Justice Training after a long career with the Lexington Police Department, including his final 10 years in the LPD undercover narcotics unit.
He echoed Barnett’s assertion that the Good Samaritan Law is an excellent benefit to law enforcement agencies which allow officers to carry and utilize Naloxone.
Nicholasville’s Fleming said the Good Samaritan Law made it easier for NPD leadership to sell the program to its officers.
“We also knew that we couldn't have officers carry a lifesaving tool and not use it on overdose scenes,” he explained. “The Good Samaritan Law did put our officers at ease, knowing they could use the Naloxone on overdose victims without fear of being prosecuted or sued for doing so.”
Detailed Policy
If an agency elects to have its officers carry Naloxone, Barnett suggests a detailed agency policy.
“The policies should define which personnel should be issued naloxone and the procedure for administering it,” Barnett explained. “The procedure should dictate the type of training that the officer shall receive. It should also account for what the officer should do throughout the drug administration, including but not limited to contact with dispatchers, assessment of the victim, observation of the surroundings to ensure the safety of the officer and others at the scene. The policy should require the officer to ask those present what type of drug the victim ingested, and determining (to the extent possible) whether the victim has any pre-existing medical conditions.”
Barnett went on to say the policy should require officers to complete a full incident report or supervisory approval, and the report should include:
The individual’s condition, symptoms, and behaviors,
The fact that naloxone was deployed,
EMS response,
The hospital to which the victim was transported,
Any narcotics seized,
The outcome of the agency and EMS response.
Proper Training and Cost
Before allowing an officer to carry and administer Naloxone, Barnett said the policy should also spell out training requirements, and the agency should maintain impeccable training records.
“Agencies should ensure that any officer who administers naloxone to an individual suffering from an apparent opiate-related overdose is properly trained in how to recognize the apparent opiate-related overdose,” he stressed. “The officer must be properly trained to administer Naloxone and understand agency policies and procedures with respect to the administration of Naloxone.”
In the Nicholasville Police Department's case, Fleming said his agency requires initial training and subsequent bi-annual training for each of its officers.
“When the program began in 2017, all officers working at that time were trained by the University of Kentucky Department of Pharmacy (they were providing the NARCAN at the time through a grant),” he said. “When the grant ran out, we began training officers in-house or sending them to the Jessamine County Health Department for training.”
Naloxone kits can be pricy. According to Fleming, it costs NPD $75 per kit.
But Ingram said cost should not be a deterrent, as the drug has been proven to be a lifesaver for officers and the public alike. And the Office of Drug Control Policy can help offset that cost.
“I have a fund set up that I purchase (Naloxone) for agencies that request it,” he said.
