By Michael Benavides
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED – A Plumsted police officer used a life-saving antidote to revive a man who overdosed on drugs on Christmas Eve.
According to a press release from the Plumsted Police Department, on Dec. 24, officers responded to a home in the township in reference to a drug-related overdose of a 22-year-old man.
Police said the man was unresponsive when the officers arrived and he was given a dose of Narcan and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Police said that following the treatment, the man became conscious and alert. He was transported to a hospital by the New Egypt First Aid Squad.
In an interview on Jan. 6, Cpl. Jason Reilly said Officer Joseph Engrassia was responsible for administering the Narcan to the man. Reilly said the Dec. 24 incident was not the first time a Plumsted police officer used Narcan to resuscitate an individual who had overdosed on drugs.
“We have used it many times before,” he said. “Every officer is equipped with Narcan at all times while on duty.”
Reilly said Plumsted is no different from many other towns where drugs, including heroin, are being used and individuals are suffering the effects of those drugs.
Narcan, also known as naloxone, can be administered through a person’s nasal passages in spray form. The drug can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.