The Watch with Will Kennedy: CMPD Trains for Deadly Drug
CHARLOTTE, NC — CMPD has worked 62 deadly drug overdoses this year. They have toxicology for the first 70 days of 2017. That covers 28 deaths, and in 12 of those cases the drug fentanyl was found on the scene.
But fentanyl is also potentially deadly for police officers, K-9 units and first responders who could come into contact with the drug without knowing it.
I got an exclusive look at how Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are training officers to safely deal with fentanyl.
“You hold it in your hand, it can go through your system,” says CMPD crime scene investigator Allison Spiegel. “And it is a matter of seconds before the affects start to get you.”
All it takes is a quarter of a milligram of the drug fentanyl to kill.
The drug is being mixed with heroin, cocaine, meth and even marijuana.
“We have not had any officers hurt, and we want to keep it that way,” says Sgt. Katherine Scheimreif, who oversees CMPD CSI. “It’s very important that we protect them.”
With that in mind, CMPD’s crime scene investigators are working to train officers across the department, and outfitting them with the safety gear to handle this deadly drug.
“We have our protective eye wear, our masks, we have aprons, and then we have gloves,” says Spiegel, showing us the gear.
Sargeant Scheimreif and CSI helped train 200 officers last week.
I had the chance to go inside that training.
“We put on a pair of gloves,” says Spiegel as we put on the equipment. “Then our apron. Another pair of gloves. Then our mask and our goggles. And we go in and collect the samples that we need, and put them in these containers”
They will train more officers moving forward, and outfit them with this protective kit.
“We’re training them to hold the scene until someone that is outfitted can get there and properly collect it,” says Scheimreif.
Exposure to fentanyl during traffic stops and at crime scenes is a growing danger.
“When it’s in a powder form, it’s such a light drug, like powdered sugar, it’ll just fly up,” explains Spiegel. “And so you want to keep your skin protected.”
Officers may not even realize the danger is there.
The DEA released a warning video for law enforcement agencies across the country, featuring officers who had been exposed.
“A bunch of it poofed up into the air, right into our face, and we ended up inhaling it,” says an officer from New Jersey in the video.
“I felt like my body was shutting down,” says his partner.
“It’s a white powder, mixed with a white powder like cocaine,” says Spiegel. “Or it’s mixed in with heroin, and you can’t tell the difference.”
Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and heroin. It can be inhaled, ingested and absorbed through the skin. Exposure can quickly result in respiratory depression, and can be fatal.
