Windsor Police Service (WPS) began carrying naloxone in phases this year, and officers are putting life saving drug to use.
The service started issuing the drug to specific units in the New Year before expanding the program to include every officer at the end of February.
Four instances where an officer used naloxone were reported at a recent Windsor Police Service Board (WPSB) meeting. In one instance, an individual was so unresponsive that it took three doses to revive them from an opioid overdose.
"I think this underscores the need for it and that ... police do come across people where they are often times first on the scene," says WPSB Member Rino Bortolin.
It's time to work on what police can do to help prevent future overdoses, he added.
"Where are these events happening and what are we doing afterwards? Are we working with other agencies across the community to work on reducing the number of overdoses and how can that be done," he says.
The goal is to assure first responders, including police, don't have to deploy naloxone, according to Bortolin.
"The real discussion now has to be on how we reduce the number of overdoses and how do we get people in the community the help they need to solve the addiction issue in our community," says Bortolin.
The Windsor-Essex Health Unit is kept apprised of calls for service involving naloxone as they supply WPS with the drug.
According to the report, first responders in Windsor-Essex used naloxone 195 times in the first three months of 2021.