Experts Raise Questions About Deputy Who Overdosed On Fentanyl

SAN DIEGO, CA — Body camera footage that circulated last week showed a San Diego Sheriff's Deputy having an overdose-like reaction to fentanyl after he was accidentally exposed to the substance. This week, some medical experts have said they are skeptical of the incident.

Professor Leo Beletsky with the UC San Diego School of Medicine told ABC 10News that there's "zero chance" the deputy's reaction was caused by fentanyl exposure, adding that it's biologically impossible to overdose to that extent by simply touching the powder.

"You would need to be in a room where lots of powder was constantly in the air for hours in order to start ingesting enough of it to experience these symptoms," Beletsky told ABC 10News.

A medical toxicologist told the station that the symptoms deputy David Faiivae displayed were not consistent with an opioid overdose and said that an overdose would lead to a total loss of airway.

"The officer who is experiencing symptoms is breathing on his own," Dr. Ryan Marino with the University Hospitals of Cleveland told ABC 10 News." He is maintaining his airway. Even looking up close at his eyes which are open, which is atypical, he doesn't have the pinpoint pupils that we would expect to see. He never loses his coloring or kind of turns blue."

Read more from ABC 10News: Experts skeptical over video of San Diego deputy reportedly overdosing on fentanyl

The video, captured by sheriff's Cpl. Scott Crane, showed Faiivae falling to the ground after standing too close to a large quantity of the ultra-toxic narcotic in the back of an SUV. Crane immediately administered Narcan, an anti-overdose medication, to Faiivae and he has since been released from the hospital.

Video footage captured by Crane's uniform-worn camera shows Faiivae lying on his back, staring blankly at the sky.

"I ran over, and I grabbed him, and he was O.D.'ing," Crane said. "And I went to my trunk, grabbed the Narcan, came down to him, grabbed him again, and I gave him one nasal spray in one nostril ... (and) another nasal spray in the other one."

In the department video, Faiivae describes what he could recall about his near-death experience.
"I remember just not feeling right, and I (fell) back," he said. "And I just — I don't remember anything after that. ... My lungs just locked up. ... I was trying to gasp for breath, but I couldn't breathe at all."

City News Service contributed to this report.

READ MORE: SD County Deputy Overdoses After Accidental Fentanyl Contact