Law enforcement, health care officials, and the media have been warning the public for some time now about the health dangers associated with coming into contact or even breathing in some of the synthetic drugs being sold on the streets today.
That’s why law enforcement has almost completely stopped doing on-the-scene drug tests and are always advised to wear gloves when handling any alleged illicit drugs. And this is exactly what officer Chris Green did when he responded to a traffic stop a little before 9 p.m. Friday night.
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According to the police report, East Liverpool Police blocked in a blue Monte Carlo after watching 25-year-old Justin Buckle allegedly perform a drug transaction with Cortez Collins, 24, the car’s passenger at the bottom of Lisbon Street at West 8th Street.
“We think they were trying to flee, but they were blocked in,” East Liverpool Captain Patrick Wright said. “Once they got blocked in, they tried to dispose of the evidence in the vehicle.”
Wright added, There was white powder on the seat, on the floor, on the guys’ shoes, and on his clothing.”
According to local CBS affiliate Pittsburgh KOKA2, officer Green assisted in searching the car operated by Buckle and patted the man down, noticing he was covered in a white powder that police believed was fentanyl. CBS Pittsburgh is reporting the officer did not wear gloves, but says he otherwise followed protocol.
About an hour later, after returning to the police station, Green informed fellow officers he was not feeling well and an ambulance was called. While standing around waiting for the ambulance, someone told Green he had some white powder on his shirt, and Green, not thinking, immediately brushed it off with his bare hands.
“I started talking weird. I slowly felt my body shutting down. I could hear them talking, but I couldn’t respond. I was in total shock. ‘No way I’m overdosing,’ I thought.”
Green was grabbed before he fell unconscious to the floor and was given one dose of Narcan right away. Wright said, “They gave him one dose of Narcan here and then transported him to East Liverpool City Hospital, where they gave him three additional doses of Narcan.” By Saturday night, he was doing fine.
Wright also noted that due to the extent of the drug crisis in this country, police departments have been forced to make changes in their protocol. “We changed our procedures to where we used to field test drugs,” Wright said. “We don’t do that any longer because of accidental exposures.”
Buckle is a resident of East Liverpool, and Collins lives in Cleveland. Both have been charged with tampering with evidence. They each waived their rights at a preliminary hearing on Monday. Bond was set at $100,000 each. It was noted that Collins also has an active arrest warrant from Euclid.
