With opioid usage and addiction continuing to rise nationwide and in Garland County, more and more law enforcement officers and other first responders find themselves using Narcan to save overdose victims.
In 2019 alone, seven Garland County sheriff's deputies used the lifesaving medication to bring people back from the brink of death or serious injury, both out in the field and among the inmates at the Garland County Detention Center.
The seven deputies were all recognized for their efforts in recent weeks with a Life Saving Award presented to each by Garland County Sheriff Mike McCormick.
"This is a perfect example of a program that is saving lives, thousands of lives, on a national basis," McCormick said Thursday.
McCormick said the majority of the funding for the acquisition of Narcan, or naloxone, which is an opioid antagonist used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and the training needed for deputies to administer it, comes from the state.
"This is becoming a growing problem in Arkansas and in the nation," he said.
The seven deputies honored were Lt. David Martineau, Sgt. Bill House, Cpl. Felix Hunter, Cpl. Destiny Crow, Cpl. Jacob Crow, and Deputies Matthew Cogburn and Kevin Hampton.
Three of the incidents occurred at the detention center involving arrestees brought in to be booked who began to overdose.
Chief Deputy of Corrections Steven Elrod said there were previous incidents in 2018, noting, "It does happen now and then." The two most recent incidents at the jail both occurred in August 2019 within a week of each other.
On Aug. 13, "They brought somebody in and during the pat-down he couldn't stand up," Jacob Crow said. "He had no function really and was slumped over in the chair and wouldn't respond. I got him on the floor and tried sternum rubs, but it wasn't working so I grabbed the Narcan and administered it to him."
He said the male arrestee "came back enough he was speaking to us. He was still a little out of it but became more aware of where he was. Then LifeNet arrived and took over."
Four days later, his wife, Destiny Crow, made a similar save. She said a male arrestee was brought in who "couldn't stay awake. I asked if he had taken anything and he admitted to it. During the entire conversation he kept falling asleep so at that point I got the Narcan and gave it to him."
Elrod noted in both incidents the arrestees were taken to local hospitals where they recovered completely.
On June 20, Hampton said Hot Springs police brought a male arrestee to the jail, having radioed ahead that he was "being combative." The man was brought into the sally port and Hampton noted he was unresponsive.
"I tried some sternum rubs but it didn't bring him around. I checked his eyes and he had pinpoint pupils," he said. "I got him to wake up for a few seconds and he told me he had taken some heroin and then he was out again. I administered a dose of Narcan and within about 15 seconds he came around. In fact, he became combative again."
On July 3, Martineau said he was dispatched regarding a female who had intentionally overdosed. "The people with her said she had taken about 50 hydrocodones and possibly some other pills," he said. "I had to use two doses of Narcan and she didn't actually come to completely until they got her into the ambulance. She was close to dying."
On Oct. 22, House said he responded to Grand Point Bay Apartments, 240 Matthews Drive, regarding a paramedic out of Little Rock "who came down with some friends and decided to do meth." He said it was called in as an unresponsive female, but "her friend told me they had both shot up meth and it was apparently too much for her."
House said the woman had been having "pain issues" and her friend had suggested she try meth to solve it. He said he administered the Narcan. "By the time she got to the hospital she was talking and doing OK. When I first arrived, they were doing CPR and she was completely out."
On Nov. 3, Cogburn said he responded to a residence on Gerrard Terrace to a "young man who had taken hydrocodone, cocaine, heroin, meth, (mushrooms) and weed. I laid him on the ground. Others told me what he took and I gave him some Narcan and he started talking. It was pretty quick."
Hunter couldn't recall the exact date of his incident, but noted it involved a woman who had overdosed inside a trailer at Treasure Isle RV Park after taking heroin and meth. "She was unresponsive, but after I gave her the Narcan she was up and better after five or 10 seconds."
Martineau said sometimes the person being saved is not happy about the use of the Narcan. "You're taking their high," he said.
Deputy Courtney Kizer, the department's public information officer, said some members of the public are critical of the use of Narcan, questioning even helping people who abuse drugs.
She also noted the dangers of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is reportedly 50 to 100 times more potent than regular opioids, which can affect and even injure or kill those who come in contact with it.
"First responders are having to use extra precautions to make sure they're OK and protected in order to treat people," she said. "It's just a part of life now, but it's sad. Going out trying to help someone and having to use protection."
Local on 02/09/2020