Greenwich Police received a phone call Sunday evening about 5:30pm about a man who appeared unconscious inside a car on Talbot Lane in Byram.
Police determined the man, described as in his 20s and from Connecticut, had overdosed.
“We gave him Narcan and he came back around,” said Lt Slusarz of Greenwich Police Dept at the Monday morning press briefing. “Narcan is great stuff because it is otherwise completely benign. So if we suspect someone overdoses who is essential dead, we administer Narcan.”
Narcan is the brand name for Naloxone, a nasal spray medication used to reverse an opioid overdose.
Greenwich Police patrol officers started carrying Narcan in 2018 as part of a multi-pronged approach to tackling the opioid epidemic in addition to connecting users to addiction services, charging people for manufacturing and distributing drugs, and educating residents.
GEMS had been carrying the opiate overdose antidote on its ambulances for about 25 years, but Greenwich Police did not equip officers with Narcan until 2018 because they typically arrive within just within minutes of a GEMS ambulance.
When police announced patrol officers would carry Narcan, Lt. Slusarz said the chance of saving a life was worth the inconvenience of officers having to sign out the medication and checking it back in at the end of their shifts. At the beginning of a shift, officers are already checking out patrol rifles and Tasers, which they return at the end of their shift.
Narcan, which is sensitive to light and heat, must be kept in in temperatures from 57° to almost 90°. Officers carry two doses of 4 mg nasal spray.
“We’re in partnership with the hospital and drug rehabilitation services,” Slusarz said, adding that police have recently stepped up efforts to work with other Town departments to get addicts services. “In this case it appears he was a user and we want to try to get him the help he needs.”
In fact, this spring Greenwich Police announced that their Detectives have been collaborating with social workers from Greenwich’s Dept of Human Services to do outreach to residents known to be struggling with drug addiction.
Narcan was used to revive a man who had overdosed on Josephine Evaristo Ave in June. The man was transported to the hospital.
Additional information on dealing with drug addiction is available at the following websites:
www.GreenwithTogether.org (Coming Soon) www.communities4action.org
www.thehubct.org www.drugfreect.org