Following 3 Overdose Deaths, Stamford Police Issue Warning

STAMFORD, CT — After a string of overdose deaths around the city in recent days, the Stamford Police Department has issued a public safety warning about the dangers of opioids, especially fentanyl.

Since last Thursday when a man was found dead on Stillwater Avenue due to an overdose, there have been two additional deaths that appear related to the use of fentanyl-laced opiates, according to Capt. Richard Conklin of the SPD.

The deaths have been spread around the city — in the East Side, West Side and South End. Police said there's currently no evidence that the deaths are directly related.

"[Fentanyl] is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine and used in pills that are made to resemble other prescription opioids," said Stamford's Director of Public Safety and Welfare Ted Jankowski. "In Connecticut it is also being seen in marijuana."

Conklin said the problem is not just confined to Stamford; it's regional, and even national.

On Jan. 15, a 13-year-old died of a fentanyl overdose at The Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids—mainly synthetic opioids (other than methadone)—are currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths. About 73 percent of opioid-involved overdose deaths involve synthetic opioids

Conklin said even before these latest deaths, overdoses in Stamford were becoming more prevalent.

"We're not going to arrest our way out of this. We're working with partners like Liberation Programs, and first responders are carrying Narcan [in Stamford]," Conklin said. Narcan is a nasal spray that helps reverse the effects of an overdose.

Liberation Programs is one of Fairfield County’s leading behavioral health organizations specializing in treatment for all types of substance use disorders. They can offer lifesaving opioid overdose kits containing Narcan.

"Anyone using substances obtained illicitly should know the signs of an opioid overdose. If anyone is experiencing or with someone experiencing an overdose, call 911 immediately," said Jankowski.