Colo. Police Department to Equip Officers With Naloxone
Jan. 15--Another Pikes Peak region law enforcement agency plans to equip its deputies with a powerful antidote to opioid drugs.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office officials said Thursday they expect to equip patrol deputies with Naloxone this spring or summer, following a similar move by the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The announcement comes as local, state and national health officials grapple with an epidemic of opioid overdoses, due to rising heroin use and use of powerfully addictive prescription drugs, such as Oxycodone or Fentanyl.
CSPD began training its officers last year to carry and use Naloxone, a powerful medication that can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It usually works long enough to get an overdose victim to a hospital, and is available in a nasal spray, making it easily usable while on patrol.
The department recently finished equipping its officers with the antidote for nearly $30,000, said Sean Mandel, commander of the department's Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence division.
Officers have yet to use it, but Mandel said it is only a matter of time before an officer must put that training to use.
"Based on what we see out on the street, we think the time is near," Mandel said.
Future batches should cost Colorado Springs police and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office far less, due to a private-public partnership announced Thursday between several agencies, including the National Association of Counties and Premier Inc.
Under the deal, Naloxone will be available to local first responders and nonprofits at a roughly 40-percent discount, said El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark. That could mean thousands of dollars in savings for Colorado Springs police and the Sheriff's Office.
"It's basically a no-brainer," said Commander Clif Northam of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. "We will save lives through this program."
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Copyright 2016 - The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
