Swampscott Officer Saves Apparent Overdose Victim

If Wednesday morning’s call had come into the Swampscott Police Department two months ago, the result could have been tragic.

Wednesday morning police received a report of an unresponsive 26-year-old man at a Paradise Road location, according to the police log.

Officers arrived at the scene and, based on information from the initial call and evidence at the scene, determined they were dealing with a possible opiate overdose situation, according to a police statement.

Officer Candace Doyle administered a dose of Narcan, a drug that counteracts the effects of opioids, and the man ”immediately regained consciousness,” the statement on the Swampscott Patch page on Facebook reads.

In May, the department announced that all on-duty officers would be equipped with and trained to administer Narcan. Wednesday’s call was the first time a member of the Swampscott Police Department has used the drug to potentially save a life, according to the police statement.

“Part of our job as police officers is saving lives, no matter what choices the individuals are making in their personal life,” the statement from police reads. “We are almost always the first emergency responders on scene. Hopefully this person will view this save as a second chance at life and make an effort to get the help he needs. Great job by all responding officers.”

“We’ve had several overdoses,” Swampscott Sgt. Tom Hennessey told Patch in May when the department announced it was equipping officers with Narcan. “We’ve had fatal overdoses. We’ve had overdoses when officers have administered rescue breathing or CPR until paramedics got there.

“The opiate crisis has been so bad, and there have been kids that I’ve seen pass away,” Hennessey said then. “There were kids that I knew and cared about and were great kids. If there’s anything that I can personally do that will save somebody, that’s what I’m here for.”