A member of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit's Board of Directors is weighing in on whether or not police officers should be carrying Naloxone — the potentially life saving medication given during a drug overdose.
City councillor Bill Marra sits on the board and says Windsor is one of only two major police services in Ontario to not carry the drug.
The province has removed any liability for police officers who choose to administer Naloxone, but Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick says that duty will be left to paramedics as they're best equipped to respond to an overdose.
Marra says saving lives should always be priority one.
"It's one tool and it can't be one tool too few," says Marra. "I'll use the old adage, if you can save one life then it was worth the expense and worth the effort to revisit policy. in law enforcement, let's equip them with everything they need including Naloxone kits if and when they need them."
President and CEO of Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Janice Kaffer (right) and Vice President, External Affairs and Executive Director Bill Marra (left) address the council for the County of Essex on February 15, 2017. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
Marra says the drug would provide another option in an officer's tool bag.
"We need to find a way of implementing some low hanging fruit. What are the little things we can start doing right away? I agree with those who have called this a public health crisis. This is likely going to go down in history as one of the worst manmade public health crisis in history. That's a frightening statement and we're living it in Windsor like many municipalities across North America," adds Marra.
Marra says firefighters carrying Naloxone should be looked into as well.
"EMS have them available, the kits, and they use them, but when you think of first responders, they may not always be the first individuals on the scene," says Marra. "It is often the case where fire and rescue personnel are the first ones on the scene and I think the priority should be life saving measures."
While Chief Frederick is against officers carrying Naloxone, Police Association President Jason DeJong has gone on record stating officers want to have the medication available.
Over the weekend of November 9 to 11, four men between the ages of 20 and 54 died of a suspected drug overdose in Windsor.