Oklahoma's District 27 DA Announces Efforts To Address Fentanyl Overdoses

The District Attorney serving Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Adair counties is making some changes to how his office addresses the issue of fentanyl overdoses.

Jack Thorp announced Monday his office is teaming up with a nonprofit organization to get help for people addicted to drugs. The goal is to ramp up the rehabilitation efforts, to try to save lives.

Ahead of National Fentanyl Awareness Day Tuesday, District 27 District Attorney Jack Thorp said his office and the many partners he's working with, are focused on fentanyl.

"We see that the fentanyl crisis requires a special response,” he said at a news conference Monday at the Wagoner County Courthouse.

Part of that response, is working with what is called the "WRAP Project," which stands for "Working to Recover, Assist and Prevent."

"I started this program out of my car,” Terri Garrett said.

Garrett founded the nonprofit organization, which offers recovery classes, peer support, and referrals to get people moving in the right direction.

"We just try our best to help fulfill the gaps wherever we can,” Garrett said.

Thorp expects that by September, one of his officers will be focused on connecting people to those services.

Officer Todd Riggs will be tapped to meet other law enforcement officers at scenes across District 27's four counties, to help connect people in need to the WRAP Project.

"The jail - it's had a lot of people in year's past in it, that didn't need to be there. They needed to be in a facility to where they were getting the help that they needed mentally,” Officer Riggs said.

"We are going to work together to do anything and everything possible to help end this epidemic in our part of Oklahoma,” Thorp said.

Thorp said since 2019, overdose deaths linked to drugs like fentanyl in his district, have increased by more than 90 percent.