An Indiana police officer is recovering after a fentanyl overdose during a recent traffic stop.
Lt. Tony Wilson from the Southport Police Department (SPD) pulled over a driver at a Speedway gas station on the south side of Indianapolis on July 19 around 7 p.m., as reported by local news outlet FOX59.
Whilst searching the vehicle, Wilson found a dollar bill covered in a white powder suspected to be fentanyl. When inspecting it, he accidentally breathed in the substance, causing him to pass out from its effects.
The quick-thinking officer managed to call for help before losing consciousness, and the Southport Police Department praised his actions, acknowledging that it likely saved his life.
According to an SPD statement, “Demonstrating incredible presence of mind, Lt. Wilson was able to call for medical assistance before losing consciousness. Lt. Wilson is currently recovering and is expected to make a full recovery.”
SPD Chief Thomas Vaughn mentioned in an interview with local journalist Rafael Sánchez that the officer had to fight for his life after inhaling the substance and trying to seek help and administer Narcan.
The department is now reviewing the incident and considering providing officers with specialized equipment for responding to narcotic-related cases.
This incident is not the first where an officer ended up in the hospital due to exposure to dangerous substances.
In 2022, two California detectives were hospitalized after being exposed to an unknown substance while searching a property in the San Fernando Valley. The woman in the apartment was also exposed and received treatment.
In another incident in 2021, a police officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, accidentally inhaled a “cloud” of cocaine. An Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson told the Albuquerque Journal that the officer inhaled the substance when opening a car door to escort a detained man into the police station.
Similarly, in 2021, six Phoenix, Arizona, police officers were hospitalized after being exposed to a substance suspected to be methamphetamine or fentanyl while responding to a call in an apartment where individuals were reportedly using both drugs. One of the individuals, who brandished a weapon and prevented others from leaving, unleashed pepper spray upon police arrival, along with another unknown substance, possibly fentanyl.