Spokane police officer uses Narcan to save overdosing suspect

A Spokane police officer carrying Narcan used it to save a man having a drug overdose Tuesday night.

The suspect swallowed an unknown substance before running from officers, according to police spokesman Officer John O’Brien. After he was arrested, he was unresponsive and appeared to be struggling to breathe and was showing other signs that he was overdosing on opiates. The officer administered Narcan, which is used to counteract drug overdoses, and the man improved, O’Brien said.

The suspect was later taken to a local hospital for treatment after he was given more Narcan by paramedics. Right now only some officers are carrying Narcan, but eventually all officers on patrol will have it, O’Brien said.

The Spokane Fire Department administered 251 doses of Narcan in 2015. There was 115 fatal drug overdoses in Spokane County in 2016 and well over half of those involved opiates.

Staff writer Rachel Alexander contributed to this report.