Sheriff’s Department Officers Undergo Fentanyl Safety Training
KOSCIUSKO — Due to the rising popularity of fentanyl, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department is taking preventative measures to keep its officers safe. Local jails, including Allen County, have recently had fentanyl exposures causing the hospitalization of employees. The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department is educating their officers and changing the way drugs are handled to avoid a fentanyl exposure.
Fentanyl is an extremely potent opioid drug, 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. This drug is commonly mixed with heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs. A three-milligram dose of fentanyl is enough to kill the average person. This dose is similar in size to a grain of salt. One of the reasons fentanyl is so dangerous is that it can be absorbed into the body by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact.
A Fentanyl Awareness Officer Safety Training was held for officers within the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department earlier this week. Lieutenant Donald Wiesehan led the training and explained the importance of taking extra precautions around Fentanyl.
“The number one thing you can learn about fentanyl is that it’s very dangerous,” explained Wiesehan. “It’s dangerous for us. Obviously our job is always dangerous, but with fentanyl it’s a lot worse. We need to make sure we are keeping our eyes and ears open, making sure we are doing the right things.”
Officers are trained to wear special gloves to avoid skin contact when interacting with possible drugs. Narcan is made readily available to officers for the worst case scenario if they do come in contact with fentanyl.
Also, the jail intake procedure has been changed to avoid fentanyl from getting inside the jail and causing contamination. Inmates should be searched before entering the jail and their belongings will be contained to a bag in an effort to contain any possible drugs.
“It is a serious problem and I think the procedures in the jail will help us,” said Wiesehan. “Be smart about it, unfortunately it’s the environment we work in now. So if you don’t know, take any precaution possible.”
Sheriff Rocky Goshert expressed the importance of officer safety moving forward. “It’s just a matter of time, this is for your own safety. You better care about your own safety and make sure you take those precautions. That’s most important.”
“We are talking about life and death. The bottom line is you go home safe, we will deal about the rest later,” said Goshert.