Ocala police on Christmas Day: 2 Narcan saves within 9 minutes – News – Ocala.com

One at a home, the other at a hotel

Four days before Christmas, Ocala police officers assisted in reviving two people who suffered drug overdoses. They were separate instances at different locations, with less than half an hour between the two.

On Christmas Day, officers again assisted in saving the lives of two people in separate incidents — only this time, the episodes transpired within nine minutes of each other.

On both Dec. 21 and 25, the officers used or allowed someone to use their department-issued Narcan, a nasal form of naloxone used to treat suspected opioid overdoses. And in both cases, the persons saved were taken into custody pursuant to the state Marchman Act, which allows authorities to initiate protective custody of people suspected of abusing drugs or alcohol.

At 5:34 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to a residence in the 500 block of Southwest Second Street. A 36-year-old woman was on a bedroom floor, and Officer Joshua Warner gave her a dose of Narcan.

After she regained consciousness, the woman was transported to Florida Hospital Ocala for further treatment.

During their investigation, officers were unable to determine how the woman overdosed or where or how she received the drugs that caused her to pass out.

While police officials were busy conducting that investigation, they received a second call for an overdose at 5:43 p.m. at Hilton Ocala, 3600 SW 36th Ave.

When officers arrived, they found a 26-year-old man passed out in front of a bed. Police officials said there were multiple syringes next to the victim.

Officer Christopher Paz performed chest compression on the man. A woman who was in the room with the officer said she knew how to administer Narcan. The officer gave the woman the Narcan, and she administered it while the officer continued chest compression.

The victim was revived and paramedics took him to West Marion Community Hospital.

Officers were told that the syringes contained heroin and fentanyl. The Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, which assisted with the investigation, arrested Samantha Kimmins. The 25-year-old Port St. Lucie woman faces several charges including possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl and giving a false name to a law enforcement official.

In a social media post on Dec. 10, Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham said six people had died from drug overdose in 10 days within the city limits of Ocala. From the same message, Graham said in 2017, 16 people died from 78 overdoses. He said in 2018, there were 27 deaths from 180 overdoses.

Fentanyl, the chief said, was found in every type of drug in Marion County. When he delivered his message, he said officers had saved 44 lives with Narcan, and 37 people have been provided access to their amnesty program offered to addicts who needs help.

His warning to drug dealers: If they give addicts drugs that kill them, they will be prosecuted for murder.

To assist with the addiction and overdoses in the area, The Centers plans to increase the size of its detox unit from six beds to 15.

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb