SCPD Officer Erlach Saves Two Lives With Drug That Stops Overdoses
SCPD Officer Bernadette Erlach
Twice in four months, an SCPD Naloxone-trained officer successfully revived a person suffering a narcotics overdose. Both times it was Officer Bernadette Erlach. In each case, Officer Erlach was the first responder to arrive on the scene and found the person unconscious and not breathing. Both times, Officer Erlach administered Naloxone (NARCAN) nasal spray and revived the victim. Thanks to the quick-acting officer, both victims survived.
On May 24, 2017, Officer Erlach responded to a person not breathing due to a heroin overdose. The person was near the train tracks behind Depot Park. When Officer Erlach arrived, she found the person unconscious and not breathing. Based on the symptoms, she applied Naloxone using an intranasal spray and began CPR. The person revived and began to breathe on their own until paramedics arrived.
On August 22, 2017, Officer Erlach overheard a medical call regarding a person overdosing in a hotel. The call was dispatched as "a person not conscious or breathing and possibly overdosed on heroin." When Officer Erlach arrived on the scene, she found the person on the floor in their hotel room with signs of narcotic use. The person was unconscious and not breathing. Officer Erlach applied Naloxone using an intranasal spray (NARCAN) and began life-saving measures. After about 10 to 15 seconds, the subject regained consciousness and sat up.
Last December, SCPD became the first law enforcement agency in Santa Cruz County to be trained in the use of Naloxone. The pilot program started with 12 SCPD officers equipped with life-saving Narcan kits. Officers train on how to recognize life threatening opioid overdoses from such drugs as heroin and prescription painkillers and administer the intranasal naloxone as an antidote. Since the pilot program started, SCPD officers have saved three persons using Narcan Kits.
