Toronto police say they have begun to provide officers based in the downtown core with opioid-overdose-reversing naloxone kits.
Police said the decision reflects a higher concentration of overdose calls in those areas.
“A phased rollout assists in alleviating public and officer concerns regarding opioid-safety issues, particularly in neighbourhoods surrounding supervised consumption sites,” Toronto Police Insp. Paul MacIntyre stated in a news release on Thursday.
MacIntyre said overdose calls to police are up to 1,024 this year, compared with 903 this time last year.
“It’s important we provide our members with this lifesaving drug until medical assistance is available,” he stated.
In becoming equipped with the kits, Toronto police are joining firefighters and paramedics, along with other police forces in Ontario.
The Toronto Police Services Board approved the plan to equip more than 1,000 officers with the drug in February. The deployment was expected to start by the end of June.
Police say supervisors and specialized squads such as the Emergency Task Force, Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, drug squad, and police dog unit will be included in the initial rollout.
Naloxone, which is effective within minutes, targets opioid receptors in the brain to reverse an overdose. It works on drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone and heroin. Toronto police officers will carry two doses in the form of a nasal spray.
According to City of Toronto statistics, Toronto paramedics have responded to 162 fatal suspected overdoses so far this year.