The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) is asking the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to reconsider its policy on naloxone.
Naloxone is a life-saving drug that counters the effects of a drug overdose. Currently, any officer who uses a kit has to report the use to the SIU.
Peterborough police Chief Murray Rodd is lending his voice to a growing chorus of police officials who want that policy changed.
“The goal is simply to save lives,” Rodd said. “To our knowledge, there’s no harm associated with administering naloxone.”
Peterborough police have been carrying naloxone kits since December 2016. Police tell CHEX News that no officer has used his or her kit yet.
The program is voluntary; officers are not required to carry them, and Rodd said there is concern that SIU involvement after using a kit could discourage officers from carrying them.
“If it is that police officers are going to feel threatened by being asked to carry it, they will decline to carry it,” Rodd said.
Rodd compared using a naloxone kit to other types of emergency first aid an officer might perform during his or her shift, like administering CPR, something that doesn’t require police to contact the SIU when it happens.
“We see naloxone as nothing different, it’s a first-aid treatment in an emergency situation to preserve someone’s life,” Rodd said.
But the SIU is standing by its mandate. In a written response to the OACP, director Tony Loparco agreed that administering naloxone may be a form of first aid, but doesn’t exempt police from oversight.
“In point of fact, the SIU is regularly notified of serious injuries and deaths where the extent of police involvement is initially reported to have been limited to emergency medical treatment,” Loparco responded. “I have seen no reason to carve out an exception in naloxone cases.”
Loparco went on to say that he disagrees with any notion that the majority of officers could hesitate to perform a life-saving measure for fear of investigation.
“A fair and independent investigation is precisely the answer for the small minority of officers who may have fallen short in their duty.”
Rodd estimates that on any given day, there are 15 to 18 kits on the road with officers in Peterborough.