Starting this week all officers of the LaPorte City Police Department will be trained to carry Naloxone, which is a lifesaving drug used in cases of an opiate overdoses, with them while on patrol. Indiana University Health has partnered with the LaPorte City Police and has generously donated Naloxone kits for each officer to carry. IU Health Director of Security Services and Emergency Management Mike Struble was instrumental in working with LaPorte City Police Chief Adam Klimczak to get this program started.
Indiana Code 16-31-3-23.5 allows Law Enforcement Officers to carry Naloxone to assist in cases of overdoses where opiates, such as heroin, are used. Chief Klimczak said that “Law Enforcement Officers are often the first to arrive on emergency calls like this. We are out on the streets patrolling 24 hours a day, 365 days year. We may hear the call come out and be only a block away from the scene. These few moments can be the difference between life and death for someone who has overdosed.” After being trained, the LPPD Officers will carry kits that include an Intra Nasal dose of Naloxone to use in cases of suspected opiate overdoses. The Intra Nasal method of administering the Naloxone is very simple to use and has little to no side effects.
In all cases where the members of the LaPorte City Police Department use Naloxone assistance from EMS will be requested. Chief Klimczak said “We see carrying Naloxone as just another step in combating our drug issues. Our community has been making some real strides in this fight and we have a lot of people doing great things in the way of enforcement, education, prevention, and treatment. While the numbers are improving, the men and women of the LPPD have seen far too many overdoses and lives wasted by those addicted to heroin. If we can save just one life and help someone get out from this drugs powerful grip then we are continuing to move in the right direction.”