Increase In Heroin Use By Public Has TPD Officers Carrying Life-Saving Kit

Heroin use is exploding around the country, including Green Country. Oklahoma is fifth in the nation for deaths from heroin overdoses and Tulsa County ranks 18th in the nation, per capita.

Because of this, hundreds of Tulsa police officers are now carrying a kit that can save the life of someone having a heroin overdose.

Tulsa police officers have already saved three lives with Narcan rescue kits and they've only been carrying them for about six weeks. They said it's a safe drug and easy to administer.

Every Narcan rescue kit comes with two doses of the drug.

Officers are trained to look for obvious signs of an opiate based overdose; someone going into a coma, barely breathing or not breathing at all.

Once that happens, they load the drug into the syringe and spray it up their nose. If there's not change within a few minutes, they can administer the second dose and generally, the person is revived quickly.

Tulsa Police Officer, Tony First, said, "If the patient doesn't need it, it doesn't do them any harm whatsoever, but if they do need it, they are dying of opiate overdose issue, then it can save their life."

Officers don't face any liability for giving the drug because of a change to Oklahoma law made last year.

"As of November of last year, officers are allowed to give this under the Good Samaritan law. So the same law that covers both officers and citizens for CPR and using the AED also covers them for the administration of Narcan," First said.

The same law covers family members, so if they have a person they know could be at risk for a heroin overdose, they could get a prescription for Narcan and have it ready, just in case it becomes necessary.

In two of the three cases where Tulsa officers recently saved someone's life, the officer wasn't on an assigned call, but, happened to be flagged down by a citizen about someone who was about to die.

More kits are coming soon so even more Tulsa officers will have the rescue kits. Soon, 600 troopers will be carrying them and there are kits going to Bixby, Sand Springs, Tulsa County deputies and other agencies.

The kits are being paid for by grant money through the Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse services.