Lethbridge school resource officers on high alert for fentanyl in schools

WATCH ABOVE: Lethbridge Regional Police are reaching out to schools to try and raise awareness on the dangers of prescription drugs, specifically fentanyl. Global’s Kimberly Tams reports.

LETHBRIDGE – Lethbridge Regional Police are on high alert when it comes to detecting fentanyl in Lethbridge schools, after a nearly fatal overdose in a high school last year.

“One of the kids at our local high schools actually overdosed. The ambulance was called and he stopped breathing. Luckily he is now fine. It happened on the bus ride into school but it’s scary to see,” said Cst. Shawn Davis, a school resource officer with the Lethbridge Regional Police.

Davis is one of many officers keeping an eye out for the deadly drug fentanyl in Lethbridge schools.

“We have six school resources in our city. It’s a high number in a city this size, and it’s very valuable to have that,” said Davis. “We get to know the kids well and the high risk kids.”

Davis said it’s a challenging issue, not only for police, but for educators. Students need to know just trying the drug once can kill them.

“This is a very serious drug and we want to make sure the kids are aware of it,” said Davis. “We talked to the kids already when it started coming to our community. We talked to certain groups who we knew were involved in the drug.”

Officials with Lethbridge School District 51 said they are aware of fentanyl and are making sure teachers know the signs that a student has taken the drug.

“We are very proactive to note any changes of behaviour which may or may not be associated with drugs,” said Cheryl Gilmore, the superintendent for Lethbridge School District 51. “Changes in behaviour usually point to a difficulty, so we have very strong counseling teams.”