Drug overdoses are believed to have led to at least 3 deaths and multiple applications of a drug used to counteract the effect of opiates in downtown Portland. Central Precinct officers downtown responded to a significant number of calls for service related to narcotics overdoses, performing life saving measures on many of them, and death investigations on others. The death investigations performed by officers occured alongside investigations by the Multnomah County Medical Examiner.
The recent death investigations are routed to the Portland Police Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit, which does follow-up investigations. There were 11 calls for service between 10:29a.m. and 11:008p.mon Friday of overdose-related medical emergencies. Almost ten of the calls occurred between 3:00p.m. and 1:00a.m. Four of these calls occurred in less than an hour – between 8:20p.m. and 8:52p.m. Officers have to do more than just call rescue.
Officers on the scene used Narcan (naloxone) as a life-saving measure on 6 different occasions. Three of the calls resulted in a death. Nearly all the overdoses involved opioid narcotics. The majority of them were a result of fentanyl usage. The Portland Police Bureau and Central Precinct officers acknowledge these medical emergencies are often recognized by community members who call in to the Bureau of Emergency Communications via 911 to report signs of overdose.
The police sent out information stating that the calls are appreciated and allow responders to know exactly where to respond to provide aid. They said calls coming from multiple people save lives. Oregon law establishes immunity from drug-related offenses for those calling for emergency medical assistance (based on ORS 475.898).
With so many drug-related deaths, systems have been put in place. Officers are often dispatched alongside medical responders to the scenes of overdoses to aid patients and ensure there is a safe scene for other responders to work. Police stated that the Portland Police Bureau and Central Precinct officers recognize the important work performed by both the Portland Fire and Rescue and AMR Paramedics, and value the partnership between our agencies when responding to these calls.
