Opioid Crisis: As Trump Announces Crisis, Arlington Police Part Of Solution

ARLINGTON, MA — As President Donald Trump took to the podium in Washington to announce a nationwide public health emergency, Arlington Chief of Police Frederick Ryan was there at the White House with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative and US Surgeon General to discuss strategies to combat the crisis.

Some 175 Americans die of a drug overdose each year, First Lady Melania Trump said. Arlington Police are at the forefront of finding ways to combat the opioid rise. So far this year there have been no opioid-related deaths, according to police. That's down from three in 2013 five in 2014 seven in 2015 and five in 2016 in the town.

"This is the worst drug crisis in American history, and if you think about it, world history," said Trump in the Thursday press conference. "It will require us to confront the crisis in its very real complexity."

In July 2015, Ryan and the Arlington Police Department outlined a new strategy for police officers to get directly involved in the demand side of the heroin and opiate crisis by working with a public health clinician to conduct direct outreach to the known substance user community and their families, friends, and caregivers. This program is called the Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative.

Then in June this year the Arlington Police Department rolled out an app to help first responders and clinicians see drug overdose locations, what type of drug was used, how many doses of Narcan were given, and if someone died or not in real time. The federal Office of the National Drug Control Policydeveloped the Overdose Detection Mapping App as part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

“A modern crisis requires a modern approach and the latest technology,” said Police Captain Julie Flaherty at the time in a statement.

Trump outlined efforts the White House was taking to address the epidemic, including added regulations and taking certain opioids off the market.

"We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic. We can do it," said Trump.

Consulted with experts to listen learn and report back, said Trump. The American government is agressively working to fight the opioid epidemic, he said at the White House press conference.

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P.A.A.R.I.’s law enforcement partners are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, doing everything they can to grapple with this mounting crisis, according to a press release. Ryan is one of three P.A.A.R.I. representatives who were invited to have a seat at the table to share experiences and educate the administration and lawmakers about the success of P.A.A.R.I.’s approach to saving lives, according to John Guilfoil.

Photo of the Arlington Police Department by Jenna Fisher/Patch