Police say the precaution comes after incidents across the country of police K-9’s becoming sick or dying from inhaling drugs.
Officers with the Evesham Township Police Department have begun wearing extra layers of protection and face masks when dealing with overdose victims and drug investigations to avoid contact with fentanyl and other powerful opioids.
According to police, Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is reported to be as much as 50 times stronger than heroin and can cause death or serious injury when it is inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
With that in mind, all Evesham Police K-9 handlers have been issued and will be carrying naloxone for their K-9 partners. Police say these precautions have been taken following numerous incidents across the country of police K-9’s becoming sick or dying from inhaling lethal doses of drugs.
According to police, the naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan among others, blocks the effects of opioids and reverses overdoses with few side effects. Police say doctors and ambulance crews have long used it and more recently has been handed out to police and firefighters.
Police say the K-9 Narcan Kits were donated to the Evesham Police Department by Paul Ressier, CEO of The Overdose Prevention Agency Corporation.
