Perspectives from law enforcement officers who respond to overdose calls for service and administer naloxone

Peter J. Davidson,Nicholas J. Richardson,Alex H. Kral,Peyton R. Attaway,Hope M. Smiley-McDonald

doi:10.1186/s40352-022-00172-y

Peter J. Davidson, Nicholas J. Richardson

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-022-00172-y

Copy DOI

Abstract

BackgroundMany law enforcement agencies across the United States equip their officers with the life-saving drug naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Although officers can be effectively trained to administer naloxone, and hundreds of law enforcement agencies carry naloxone to reverse overdoses, little is known about what happens on scene during an overdose call for service from an officer’s perspective, including what officers perceive their duties and responsibilities to be as the incident evolves.MethodsThe qualitative study examined officers’ experiences with overdose response, their perceived roles, and what happens on scene before, during, and after an overdose incident. In-person interviews were conducted with 17 officers in four diverse law enforcement agencies in the United States between January and May 2020.ResultsFollowing an overdose, the officers described that overdose victims are required to go to a hospital or they are taken to jail. Officers also described their duties on scene during and after naloxone administration, including searching the belongings of the person who overdosed and seizing any drug paraphernalia.ConclusionThese findings point to a pressing need for rethinking standard operating procedures for law enforcement in these situations so that the intentions of Good Samaritan Laws are upheld and people get the assistance they need without being deterred from asking for future help.

Highlights

Many law enforcement agencies across the United States equip their officers with the life-saving drug naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose
Over 700,000 people died in the United States (U.S.) from drug overdoses between 1999 and 2017, with opioids being involved in 70% of drug overdose deaths in 2018 (Wilson et al.,2020)
Context for overdoses and law enforcement naloxone use Some of the officers interviewed described overdose calls for service as coming in waves

Summary

Introduction

Many law enforcement agencies across the United States equip their officers with the life-saving drug naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Officers can be effectively trained to administer naloxone, and hundreds of law enforcement agencies carry naloxone to reverse overdoses, little is known about what happens on scene during an overdose call for service from an officer’s perspective, including what officers perceive their duties and responsibilities to be as the incident evolves. Other studies have found that officers are generally positive towards naloxone training and administering naloxone following an overdose (Carroll et al.,2020; Green et al.,2013; Purviance et al.,2017; Ray et al.,2015; Wagner et al.,2016; White et al.,2021)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion