WARNING: This post contains violent or other graphic images that may disturb some people, discretion is advised.
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio — An Ohio police department says it’s trying to show the impact of the heroin and painkiller epidemic by sharing photos of a 4-year-old boy sitting in a vehicle behind slumped-over adults who were later revived with an overdose antidote.
East Liverpool police say in a Facebook message they’re sorry if people are offended but they want the public to see what happens and they want to be a voice for the boy who witnessed the scene.
READ MORE: Shocking photos of Ohio overdose victims problematic, say addiction experts
“We feel it necessary to show the other side of this horrible drug. We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess,” said the city in the Facebook post.
“This child can’t speak for himself but we are hopeful his story can convince another user to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody.”
Police say an officer watched the vehicle weave erratically and stop, then approached and noticed signs the driver was impaired. The officer says the driver indicated he was taking his unconscious female passenger to a hospital, then became unresponsive himself.
The officer called paramedics, who revived the pair.
“We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the non-drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis,” the city said in a statement.
They are facing child-endangering charges among others.
READ MORE: Fentanyl chemicals to be restricted, Health Canada says
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