NUTLEY —
After saving another person’s life from a potentially fatal drug overdose using Narcan on March 12, the Nutley Police Department says it’s saved a total of nine lives in total since deploying the overdose antidote a year ago.
All current officers have been trained to use Narcan when they arrive at an overdose call.
The drug that made its way to the NPD in March 2015 has proven to be one of the department’s most valuable tools in combatting opiate overdoses, the NPD said. The use of the drug has given several victims a second chance at life.
When administered, Narcan reverses the effects of drugs such as heroin, morphine, Dilauded, Vicodin, Percocet and other potent narcotics.
The Narcan — also known by its brand name, Naloxone — was first put to use in Nutley on March 15, 2015, when it saved a 48-year-old township man’s life. That was followed by saves of a 22-year-old man on May 1, 2015; a 52-year-old man on May 3; a 27-year-old man on Aug. 15; a 31-year-old man on Aug. 17; and four saves already this year, including a 24-year-old man on Feb 25; a 28-year-old woman on March 1; a 26-year-old woman on March 8; and the latest, a 52-year-old man on March 12.
Cops credited for the lifesaving responses include Officers Ted Durand, Eric Stabinski, Andrew Basset, Mark DeLitta, Mathew Murphy, Nicholas Albanese, Joseph Bigg, Gerard Tusa, Christopher D’Alessio, Richard Schwarz, Theodore Reilly, Anderson Antonio and Anthony Osetto.
Chief Thomas Strumolo commended all the officers — and he credited their life-saving actions to their training and quick administration of the antidote. He said calls that require CPR, rescue breathing and advanced-medical support usually require two officers and in some cases, a third cop or a supervisor.
“They usually arrive first and provide the victim with their best chances of recovering from an overdose,” Strumolo said.
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