Last Updated on July 13, 2023, 10:42 AM | Published: July 12, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Deputies were able to recover from a brief encounter with unknown substances Tuesday by administering Narcan (nalaxone) to each other.
Both were taken to the hospital for further treatment and, according to the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO,) they “are fine.”
There won’t be a difinitive determination of what substance the deputies were exposed to until the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) runs tests.
Sheriff Tommie Johnson III held a news conference Wednesday on the turn of events that landed both deputies in the emergency room at OU Medical Center in OKC.
“First and foremost, I want to thank these two deputies for going out doing a job that they do each and every day,” said Johnson. “And they do it well and with a level of professionalism that we all expect here that the citizens of Oklahoma County have come to expect.”
The Sheriff had both deputies tell what happened and answer questions.
Symptoms
Deputy Melody Norton and Deputy Alfredo Correa were serving eviction papers Tuesday to a tenant at 2212 Felix Place, Apartment 122, when they observed needles and other drug paraphernalia in the apartment.
Soon after they served the eviction and cleared the premises, both began to experience symptoms, some of which they believed were consistent with opioids such as fentanyl. That’s when each administered Narcan (naxalone) to the other and found relief from the increasing symptoms.
But, most of the symptoms described by the two deputies were not consistent with medically accepted symptoms of a fentanyl overdose.
Norton said that she was experiencing “my nose tingling, and sinuses on both sides.” Correa had similar symptoms.
They stopped at a convenience store to wash off their arms and face but both began to experience burning sensations in their arms which had been exposed.
When both started feeling like they were “burning all over” and experiencing “shortness of breath and rapid heart rate” is when they agreed to administer Narcan to each other.
At that point they called for an ambulance and were taken to the OU Medical Center where they were decontaminated, treated, and blood samples drawn for tests to see what substance they had been exposed to.
Norton said that when she returned home from being checked out at the hospital she prepared her uniform to be put in the wash as well as taking gear and protective plates out of the carrier to be washed.
As she was starting to put those items in the wash, “I got hit with another [episode] probably from 8:30 to 9:30 or 10:00 last night. My lips were numb, tongue was numb nose was numb again. And so whatever it was, it was something.”
Correa had just taken training for Narcan and had been briefed on the symptoms of opioid exposure.
The test results won’t be reported by the OSBI until a couple of weeks have passed, said Johnson.
Background
The OCSO sent out an email earlier in the day to members of the media inviting them to the news conference. “… two deputies were taken to the hospital after possibly being exposed to fentanyl while serving papers,” read one line of the email that contained details of when and where the news conference would be held.
The prevalence of Fentanyl is increasing rapidly along with other opioids in Oklahoma and nationally. And so, in this case, as in some others involving law enforcement personnel, the concern is that these deputies were exposed to fentanyl or some other strong drug in the small spaces of the apartment.
The illegally manufactured version of the drug as well as stolen pharmaceutical fentayl has proven to be dangerous and is widely available on the street.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDCs) estimate that “over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.”
The CDCs list the following symptoms of an overdose:
- Small, constricted “pinpoint pupils”
- Falling asleep or losing consciousness.
- Slow, weak, or no breathing.
- Choking or gurgling sounds.
- Limp body.
- Cold and/or clammy skin.
- Discolored skin (especially in lips and nails)
Also, the CDCs give the following basic information about illegally manufactured fentanyl:
Powdered fentanyl looks just like many other drugs. It is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine and made into pills that are made to resemble other prescription opioids. Fentanyl-laced drugs are extremely dangerous, and many people may be unaware that their drugs are laced with fentanyl.
In its liquid form, IMF can be found in nasal sprays, eye drops, and dropped onto paper or small candies.
Updates: After posting this report, later in the day we changed the language to make clearer that it is still unknown what substance the deputies were being affected by in this situation. Free Press will continue to monitor for results of the drug screens on both deputies.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
