State Police Save Heroin Overdose Victim At Thompson Center With Narcan
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three officers helped save the life of a woman who overdosed on heroin on Thursday in a restroom at the Thompson Center, said Illinois State Police.
It was lunchtime in the food court at the Thompson Center. WBBM's Steve Miller reports.
"The cleaning crew that cleans the tables and maintains the floor here notified me that there was an unconscious female in the handicapped stall of the female restroom."
Illinois State Police Sergeant Carleton Riley was on duty on the ground level.
He said, he and two other officers went into the restroom - and one of them, Trooper Vince Mandile, rubbed the woman's sternum area to help her to start breathing again.
"Once we got her to breathe a little bit better - but she wasn't conscious - her friend told us what she had ingested. I decided to take the Narcan and administer it. It took about 60 seconds to kick in," Riley said.
Narcan blocks the effects of opioids.
Also assisting, State Police Officer David Jackson.
State Police said this is the eleventh life they've saved from overdose since officers began carrying Narcan in 2015.
Sergeant Riley said it felt good to safe a life.
"It's all a part of the job... This is not my first one."
Riley said he once saved the life of a man with a defibrillator - also in the food court of the Thompson Center.