By Madina Toure
As New Yorkers across the five boroughs celebrated New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, NYPD officers saved the lives of two people who overdosed on heroin in Queens, the 113th Precinct said.
In one incident, a woman contacted the NYPD just before 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve saying that her friend, a 51-year-old man in a St. Albans apartment, had just snorted heroin and become unresponsive, according to the 113th Precinct, which covers St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, South Jamaica, South Ozone Park, Hollis, Addisleigh Park and Locust Manor. He was losing consciousness and was barely breathing.
NYPD Officer Brett Devine noted that the man had pin-point pupils unaffected by light as well as blue lips and fingertips. Devine and Lt. David Goldstein delivered a single dose of naloxone nasal spray, the 113th Precinct said. Naloxone, a medication that is taken nasally, immediately counteracts the effects of an overdose from narcotics such as heroin as well as some prescription drugs.
By the time Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived at the scene, the man had regained consciousness and his breathing was almost back to normal, the precinct said. He was also able to speak clearly and managed to walk down the stairs from the second-floor apartment as well as step into an ambulance. He was then taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in stable condition.
In another incident at around 8:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, an 18-year-old girl became unconscious after a heroin overdose, the 113th Precinct said.
Officers Kevin Mooney and Matilde Leonardi found the teenager completely unresponsive, not breathing and turning blue, according to the precinct. She had no pulse. They applied the naloxone spray and several minutes later, she regained consciousness and her breathing was restored. She walked to the ambulance from her second-floor apartment and was transported to Queens Hospital Center in stable condition.
Last year, the NYPD introduced a program in which patrol cops carry Overdose Prevention Rescue Kits that contain latex gloves, alcohol swabs, nasal atomizers, needleless syringes and pre-filled vials of naloxone in Staten Island alone, but it has since expanded to all five boroughs.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.
