Detained man helps Richland County sheriff’s deputy during possible accidental overdose
After possibly being exposed to fentanyl, Master Deputy Rebekah Smith received some unexpected help from the man she was detaining.
Body camera footage from Thursday showed the man trying to help Smith during the incident on Longcreek Drive, said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott at a press conference Friday.
“There are good Samaritans,” said Lott.
Smith was patrolling on Broad River Road when she saw a “suspicious person,” according to a Richland County Sheriff Department press release. While patting down the 32-year-old man, Smith, who was wearing gloves at the time, began feeling strange. When asked if he had drugs, the man admitted to using fentanyl within the last hour.
Lott said the man tried to walk Smith through how to control her breathing.
“He said ‘When I overdose, this is what I do: I breath slow, I breathe deep,’” Lott said.
Smith fell unconscious after receiving several doses of Narcan from other deputies, according to the sheriff’s department. Every Richland County sheriff’s deputy is equipped with a dose of Narcan, which can reverse opiate overdose by blocking absorption of the drug.
Despite his assistance to Smith, deputies charged the man with “aggravated breach of peace,” according to the press release. He was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County.
Much of the scientific research suggests that fentanyl exposure is not a major risk for first responders.
Two leading toxicology associations have described the risk of overdosing due to accidental exposure to fentanyl as “extremely low.” In one case study, published by the National Institute of Health, a toxicologist accidentally spilled a large dose of fentanyl on himself and suffered no harm. He simply rinsed the drug off.
Lott said deputies believe Smith may have inhaled the substance. The sheriff’s department declined to release a toxicology report, citing Smith’s privacy.
A powerful synthetic opiate, fentanyl is a leading reason for the increase in opiate deaths in South Carolina. In 2020, fentanyl was involved in more than 1,000 overdose deaths, more than twice as many as the previous year, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. That year, fentanyl accounted for 79% of all opioid-involved overdose deaths.
“Everyday in Richland County, somebody is overdosing,” said Lott.
This story was originally published July 24, 2022 at 1:00 AM.