SJPD: Chief, assistant flagged down to help save man from suspected fentanyl overdose
SAN JOSE – A San Jose man was saved from a suspected fentanyl overdose on Tuesday after the city's chief of police and assistant chief were flagged down by the victim's girlfriend, police said.
Police Chief Anthony Mata and Assistant Chief Paul Joseph were flagged down at approximately 12:40 p.m. in the 500 block of Coleman Avenue. They were informed that the man had ingested a white powdery substance and was unresponsive.
Additional officers arrived and administered two doses of Narcan, successfully counteracting the effects of the drug until paramedics got there and continued to render aid, according to police. The man was transported to a hospital where he was stabilized.
The substance was suspected to be fentanyl, an opioid that is between 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin.
Santa Clara County's Behavioral Health Services Department has made Narcan available countywide as part of its Overdose Prevention Project.
San Jose police lost one of their own to a fentanyl overdose this spring when Officer De'Jon Packer succumbed to the drug and was found dead in his home in Milpitas on March 13.