Local officer invited to State of the Union Address

An East Liverpool police officer is going to Washington, D.C. He will be attending Tuesday’s State of the Union Address with Congressman Bill Johnson.

“I’m very excited, but I’m also very nervous,” said officer Chris Green. “I don’t know what to expect.”

East Liverpool patrolman and K-9 officer, Chris Green, is preparing to embark on quite the journey. After serving and protecting his community for almost six years, he’s now been given the opportunity to share his ideas and experience with some of the most prominent leaders in the country.

It all started with a phone call that he didn’t think was real.

“I received a call from our administration,” said Green. “They stated that Congressman Bill Johnson was trying to get in contact with me. It was a little bit of a shock. I actually thought it was a joke.”

It wasn’t a joke. Green was selected to be Johnson’s special guest to the event.

Johnson released a statement saying, “Inviting officer Green is one small way I can say ‘Thank You’ to him and all those committed to making our communities safer.”

In 2017 Green was involved in a nearly fatal incident. He was in the midst of a drug arrest and was exposed to fentanyl.

“I was actually walking out for the evening and somebody noticed it on my shirt,” said Green. “My hands were sweaty. I brushed it off and cleaned my hands and within minutes I was unconscious.”

Green credits a fellow police officer for catching him and injecting him with the first dose of naloxone and rushing him to the hospital.

“I couldn’t thank him enough because it was just his awareness. I could’ve took it home and killed my pets, my girlfriend or I could have went into Walmart or something and had contact with somebody,” said Green. “The stuff is that dangerous. You just never know.”

Green says a big goal of his is to talk to lawmakers and see what help local communities can get when it comes to combating the drug epidemic.

“A big factor for us personally is we don’t have enough manpower. We do not have the funding to hire more men and then we don’t have a lot of the equipment that we need,” said Green. “These other places are being affected by these drugs and we’re starting to see an influx in meth, fentanyl, carfentanyl, and it is directly related to the cartel and the border.”