WINONA – A Winona police lieutenant’s quick response on a recent call saved a woman’s life.
Lt. Blake Herring of the Winona Police Department was dispatched to reports of a possible drug overdose at a residence in Winona. When he arrived, he found a woman unresponsive.
“She was blue and gray,” Herring said. “She had a pulse, but she was in obvious distress.”
Retrieving a dose of NARCAN, a nasal spray used to counter the effects of an opioid overdose, from fellow officer, Jarquez Evans, Herring said he administered the spray into the victim’s nose, and she immediately regained consciousness.
“It worked,” he said. “Instantly, she came to.”
Herring said the victim was lucky a family member discovered her in time to contact the police department.
Herring said he and his fellow Winona police officers have all received training in administering NARCAN to those who have overdosed on opioid drugs, and the officers try to carry the medication with them in the field.
“I like to have it in case [one of our officers] actually touch something like Fentanyl, [which can be fatal to the touch because it is absorbed through the skin,]” Herring
said.
Winona Chief of Police Tommy Bibbs said he is working to get additional doses of NARCAN for his officers to have as they protect and serve the citizens of Winona.
