Cop saved from fentanyl overdose in dramatic California video. ‘Not gonna let you die’
Editor’s note: Health experts say it’s “not possible” that a person could overdose on fentanyl from touching the drug. And research shows there are no confirmed cases of fentanyl overdoses for first responders from skin contact with the drug.
A deputy nearly died of a fentanyl overdose immediately after he was exposed to it while on duty, California officials say.
David Faiivae, a San Diego County sheriff’s deputy, found a white powdery substance while on patrol July 3, according to an Instagram post from the sheriff’s department. A field test revealed the substance tested positive for fentanyl, body camera video showed.
“That stuff’s no joke, dude,” Cpl. Scott Crane, Faiivae’s field training officer, can be heard saying. “It’s super dangerous.”
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is between 80 and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The body camera footage was released as part of a public safety video on the department’s Instagram. In an interview, Crane said Faiivae had gotten too close, and moments later, he collapsed.
“I remember just not feeling right and then I [fell] back and I don’t remember anything after that,” Faiivae said. “It was in an instant, it’s as though my lungs just locked up and I couldn’t breathe.”
Crane immediately recognized that Faiivae was overdosing and grabbed Narcan, a prescription nasal spray that is “used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose,” the Narcan website said.
As Crane tended to Faiivae, the deputy can be heard saying, “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, I’ve got you, OK? I’m not gonna let you die,” Crane said.
Crane said in the public safety video that Faiivae “would have died in that parking lot if he was alone.”
“I don’t think people realize the severity of how deadly it really is,” Faiivae said.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Cop saved from fentanyl overdose in dramatic California video. ‘Not gonna let you die’."