In a County Outside Texas, All Officers Now Carry Narcan

The need for Narcan to save lives chiefly because of the threat of fentanyl poisoning is obvious to a county outside of Texas. They’ve changed their procedures for responding to an emergency. To access Narcan, formerly they would find a locked first aid kit, which was often on another floor. It is essential to use Narcan as rapidly as possible. So, now corrections officers in this county jail outside Texas carry Narcan on their belts, next to the handcuffs and pepper spray.

This new procedure started in January 2023. It gives them peace of mind because of the lives it could save–even the officers’ lives. They well remember that in 2018, a bag of fentanyl went airborne. It is such a powerful opioid that people have died on many occasions in similar circumstances, based on numerous reports. The episode with airborne fentanyl happened when they scuffled with a man going through the intake process. Several of their officers were transported by ambulance to a hospital, though details of the symptoms they experienced weren’t made known.

In the state where the above occurred, it was reported that 716 died out of approximately 10,000 drug overdoses.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and Part 9 of this continuing series.

Helping Texas jail detainees and their families with resources is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention of suggesting that people or organizations have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor