Law Enforcement

Joe Donovan knows a thing or two about hard living. A few years ago the Raleigh-based veteran was diagnosed with a rare adrenal disorder, Addison’s Disease, which can cause fainting spells that require an emergency injection. Since his diagnosis in 2004, Donovan has been required to carry emergency medication and a syringe on him at all times, as well as to wear a bracelet explaining the disorder and how to administer the injections.

Not long after his diagnosis and the discovery of a tumor on his pituitary gland, Donovan lost his job. Soon after, with pending surgery and medical bills piling up, he became homeless. Over the next five years he was homeless twice, for as long as two years at a time. Living in homeless shelters with nothing but a backpack and some clothes, Donovan had many things to worry about, but among his concerns were the syringes he kept in his backpack along with the emergency medication. As a veteran, he obtained the syringes from the VA for his disorder and had every right to carry them, but because he was and subject to the same stereotypes about drug use that plague many homeless people, he often worried about run-ins with the police. Would they believe his story that the syringes were for a medical condition?

Interview with Ron Martin, Retired Law Enforcement Officer Residing in Raleigh, NC

Ronald Martin is a retired officer with over 20 years of experience in law enforcement. His career took him through a wide array of different departments, including patrol, special operations squad, and the narcotics division. He entered the police force around the time that crack-cocaine was becoming a popular street drug, especially where he worked in New York City.

“For about 7 years in the 1980s, nearly every robbery, rape, or assault we encountered was in some way connected to crack-cocaine,” says Ron. “Almost everyone we arrested was carrying crack pipes, vials, or antennas from cars and umbrellas.”

On October 1, 2012, Florida became the newest state to enact 911 Good Samaritan legislation in an effort to curb statewide fatalities from drug overdose. Good Samaritan laws grant immunity from drug possession or paraphernalia charges to witnesses to an overdose who call 911 for emergency medical services. The law states, “A person acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing a drug-related overdose may not be charged, prosecuted, or penalized pursuant to this chapter for possession of a controlled substance if the evidence for possession of a controlled substance was obtained as a result of the person’s seeking medical assistance.”

The law was passed none too soon for Florida, a state with one of the highest rates of overdose deaths in the country. In 2010, 98 of the top 100 doctors dispensing oxycodone nationwide were located in Florida, and the state dispensed more oxycodone than all other states combined.

911 Good Samaritan Overdose Law and Hispanics
by Leilani Attilio, North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition

The New Heroes of Law Enforcement – Interview with Sheriff Jack Mahar, Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office
by the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition

With deaths from opiate prescription pills on the rise all over the country, a surprising new ally is stepping up to help reverse the trend – law enforcement. The Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office, a small department in rural New York state, has emerged as a nationwide leader in the battle to save lives from unnecessary overdose deaths. Rensselaer County is one of a few departments in the country that trains police deputies in the use of Narcan, an opiate reversal drug that can be administered to revive a person who has overdosed on opiates.

Justitia has been sneaking glances under her blindfold:

The task force for the N.C. Advocates for Justice also looked into incarceration rates and juvenile offenders by race. The study covered a decade of law enforcement traffic stops in North Carolina. Among other findings, the report said blacks and Hispanics are "almost twice as likely to be searched and twice as likely to be arrested" as white drivers.

In law enforcement terms, those statistics would qualify as "probable cause" that a crime was being committed, and that a much closer look was warranted:

Interview with Graham McKinnon, CEO of Protective Outfitters
Samantha Korb, NCHRC Intern

When I spoke to Graham McKinnon, CEO of Protective Outfitters, I came across with the feeling that there is no one more invested in not only his business, but in his innovative and lifesaving product, the Ampel Probe. “The Ampel Probe is a hand held tool most closely resembling a pair of large pliers and is used to safely pick up materials that could potentially harm the public, like syringes”. Protective Outfitters, the company started by McKinnon, specializes in this tool that helps protect the lives of professionals in a variety of industries, including law enforcement, first responders, forensic teams and many more communities. McKinnon says “the Ampel Probe is a device that customers have stated protect users from sharps injuries and their associated from diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C.”

Samantha Korb, NC Harm Reduction Coalition

If someone had asked me what the number one cause of accidental death was in the United States, I wouldn’t have hesitated to say car accidents were the culprit. When we hear the word ‘accident’, it isn’t much of a stretch to think only of car accidents, hence the name. But a missing piece of the puzzle is often cast aside. That incredibly growing puzzle piece is death caused by overdose, which now holds the not so coveted crown of the number one cause of accidental death in the United States.