Police officers who administer Naloxone to help those suffering an opioid overdose will no longer be the target of an investigation. Sylvia Jones, the newly appointed minister of community safety and correctional services, announced the regulatory change Tuesday that will allow officers to carry and use the overdose-reversing drug as other first-responders do — without having to worry about being the target of the Special Investigations Unit in the event the person in distress dies or is injured.“No one should face unfair repercussions just because they are doing their job and trying to save a life,” said Jones. “This amendment will enable police officers to carry out their duties without fear of facing a criminal investigation, but more importantly, it will also help save countless lives.”Until now, the SIU, the civilian agency that oversees police, has intervened in cases where a patient dies or is seriously injured after having been given Naloxone by an officer.With the changes under the Police Services Act, the SIU will not have to be notified in such cases, “provided there was no other interaction that could have caused the death or serious injury,” the province said.“This amendment under the Police Services Act will allow our police officers to provide life-saving interventions when overdoses occur unencumbered by overly restrictive regulations,” added Health Minister Christine Elliott in a written release.Read more:Police in Toronto’s downtown core will now carry overdose-reversal drug, NaloxoneExperts agree Naloxone is central to fighting Canada’s opioid crisis — but they also say it’s not a ‘wonder drug’Ontario saw spike in opioid deaths in 2017, new data shows“This is the right thing to do for our police officers who are key first responders in the opioid crisis” and often the first on the scene, she added.Naloxone can temporarily reverse the effects o ...
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