Deputies at a jail facility in Los Angeles saved the life of a 19-year-old inmate after he overdosed on the opioid Fentanyl.
The inmate had stopped breathing after he and four others at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles apparently ingested the drug after mistaking it for methamphetamine, authorities said Wednesday.
The incident happened on December 5 when Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were conducting a welfare check.
The inmate, 19, had stopped breathing after he and four others at the Inmate Reception Center in LA ingested the drug after mistaking it for methamphetamine, authorities said
The incident happened on December 5 when Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were conducting a welfare check
The five inmates were found unresponsive and disoriented in a cell, the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
The 19-year-old inmate had stopped breathing, so deputies and medical personnel rushed in to resuscitate him.
Deputies and medical staff administered the drug Narcan, which blocks the effects of opioids and can save people from dying from an overdose.
Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department also helped with the resuscitation effort.
Video of the lifesaving moment was posted on the sheriff’s department’s Facebook page.
The sheriff’s department said in a statement: ‘For more than five minutes, deputies and medical staff worked feverishly to revive the inmate, who continued to show no vital signs, while paramedics were called and responded.’
The 19-year-old inmate had stopped breathing, so deputies and medical personnel rushed in to resuscitate him. Deputies and medical staff administered the drug Narcan, which blocks the effects of opioids and can save people from dying from an overdose
The five inmates were found unresponsive and disoriented in a cell during the welfare check, the sheriff’s department said in a statement
It added: ‘They intravenously administered an additional dose of Narcan to the inmate and after several seconds the man suddenly came back to life, demonstrating full vital signs.’
All five inmates were taken to hospital after the overdose. Four were released within 12 hours, and the fifth was released 24 hours later after making a full recovery.
Sheriff Jim McDonnell congratulated the staff for helping save the inmate.
He said on Twitter: ‘I’m proud of the @LASDHQ Deputies and Correctional Health Services staff that resuscitated an unresponsive inmate after an apparent drug overdose in the jail.
‘He is alive today bc of the lifesaving efforts. We must focus on drug prevention, intervention and rehabilitation.’
An investigation into how the inmates came to possess the opioid is still under investigation.
The sheriff’s department said the drug had been ‘secreted in a body cavity’ of one of the inmates.