East St. Louis police officer, EMS workers taken to hospital after exposure to fentanyl

An East St. Louis police officer and two EMS workers responding to a possible overdose call ended up in a hospital emergency room after they were exposed to fentanyl, according to Police Chief Kendall Perry.

The incident happened on Sunday afternoon, June 18, at a home in the 800 block of Bre-Mar Drive, where a man in his 60s was reported to have overdosed on fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid.

“There was quite a bit of it on scene,” Perry said. “One of our officers ended up getting exposed to it and had to be transported to Memorial Hospital.”

When police arrived at the home, they found the man responsive but confused. “He refused medical treatment” Perry said.

Besides the officer, Perry confirmed that two EMS workers who were exposed to the fentanyl on scene had to be taken to the hospital. The officer and workers were treated and released.

Perry said agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration now have the substance. “It was fentanyl, possibly mixed with meth,” Perry said.

The chief did not release the names of the officer or EMS workers who were exposed to the drugs.

Officer Tia Mitchell of the East St. Louis Police Department confirmed to the BND that she had to go to the hospital after exposure to the drugs.

She said she was given Narcan twice, once by a co-worker and a second time by a paramedic on scene. Narcan is a life-saving drug that can be used to resuscitate people who have overdosed on opioids.

The East St. Louis Fire Department also was at the scene and hosed the officer down before she was taken to the hospital, Perry said.

Mitchell told the BND she was exposed to the fentanyl when a woman who had been in the residence brought it outside in a Ziplock bag.

Mitchell said she blacked out so she doesn’t remember too much about the incident. But she said she is grateful to her fellow officer who had Narcan with him.

“Thank God for Narcan. If he didn’t have it with him, we don’t know what would’ve happen,” Mitchell said

Asked whether officers carry Narcan on them routinely, Mitchell said not that she’s aware of.

She said she feels it should be required and provided by the police department in all squad cars “for our safety and the safety of the citizens if they are overdosing.”

Narcan is provided to all officers, said Perry, the chief. Each officer gets at least two boxes that they can carry with them, he said.

Perry said that while officers are not required to carry Narcan, he believes that it is important that they have it. When they run out, they can come to the office for more, the chief said.

Mitchell said she had to seek additional medical evaluation after she was treated and released from the hospital’s emergency room and is still off work.

“This is not an easy thing to go through,” Mitchell said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through its National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, has warned about the first-responders’ risk to drug exposure and has issued a number of recommendations to help prevent it. They are listed on the CDC’s site.

“Responders are likely to come into contact with a mixture of illicit drugs during routine job duties,” the CDC states. “These mixtures of illicit drugs can include cocaine, methamphetamines, cannabinoids, cathinones, and opioids such as fentanyl and heroin for example. Exposure to illicit drugs can be harmful.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 12:05 PM.