Chatham sheriff’s deputies use naloxone to revive overdose victim

Chatham County sheriff’s deputies used naloxone to revive a woman who had suffered a drug overdose this week, marking the first time a law enforcement agency in the county has used the overdose reversal drug.

Police and sheriff’s departments across the state are starting to train and equip their officers with naloxone, because they are often the first ones to arrive at an overdose. In the Triangle, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, along with police departments in Hillsborough, Carrboro, Clayton, Apex and Fuquay-Varina also carry the overdose antidote or soon will.

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office says it teamed up with police in Siler City and Pittsboro in November to train officers to recognize and treat suspected overdoses of opioid drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.

It says deputies put their lessons to work for the first time on Monday. Deputies responded to a report of a drug overdose on Big Woods Road south of Chapel Hill, where they found an unconscious 20-year-old woman. The deputies successfully used Narcan, a nasal-spray version of naloxone, and she was taken to the hospital by EMS.

“Our goal with this initiative is to save lives,” Chatham Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a statement. “Naxloxone is an important tool for law enforcement who may encounter opioid overdoses in the line of duty. Heroin is here in Chatham, but thanks to Narcan, we have another way to fight back.”

The sheriff’s office did not release the names of the deputies or the woman they helped revive.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Chatham sheriff’s deputies use naloxone to revive overdose victim."