A pair of bike officers rode to the aid of a man Saturday after he suffered a heroin overdose in downtown Seattle.
Officer Jason Drummond and Randy Jokela were on bike patrol in downtown Seattle around 5:30 PM when they heard a report over police radio of an overdose at 4th Avenue and Olive Way.
When officers arrived, they found an unconscious man lying on the sidewalk. His breathing was weak, his skin had turned grey and he had fresh needle marks on his arm, which a witness attributed to the man’s heroin addiction.
Officer Jokela gave the man a dose of nasal Naloxone and turned him over to medics as they arrived on scene.
After medical personnel loaded the man into the back of an ambulance, he regained consciousness and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
This incident marks the ninth time officers have successfully used Naloxone since Seattle police began carrying it in mid-March. The case will become part of the ongoing study conducted by the University of Washington into SPD’s use of Naloxone for a possible department-wide deployment.
As a reminder, Washington law provides immunity from criminal drug possession charges for anyone seeking medical aid for themselves or someone else experiencing an overdose.