A Florida police officer was given three doses of Narcan after being exposed to fentanyl and overdosing during a traffic stop Tuesday.
Shocking video shows Tavares officer Courtney Bannick lying motionless on the side of the road just after midnight taking an opioid overdose reversal drug.
According to local reports, Bannick found the narcotics inside a rolled-up dollar bill inside the car he and other officers were driving, which police said contained the deadly drug.
Soon, he began to struggle to breathe.
Another officer on the scene heard her choking and breathing on the radio and went over to her side. He found her “conscious and unconscious and in need of immediate medical attention,” the Tavares Police Department said in a news release. Taken by Click Orlando.
That officer and two others laid Bannick on the ground and quickly administered Narcan. He was brought back and was again unconscious and talking, appearing to have stopped breathing, according to dashcam footage released by the department.
“He was completely lifeless. In these videos, he appears to be dead,” said Tavares Police. Courtney Sullivan It was reported by Fox 35 Orlando. “So he’s very grateful today.”
Police gave Bannick three doses of Narcan before paramedics arrived and took him to an area hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Experts believe Bannick, who wore gloves when handling the drugs, may have been affected because the wind blew the drugs into his system. Officers planned to test the substance at the station rather than at the scene because the weather was so strong.
“I’ve done it the same way a hundred times. It only takes one time and a minimal amount,” Bannick said. “I’m grateful that I’m not alone and that I got help right away.”
He requested the release of the disturbing video to raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.
“If it wasn’t for the other officers, there’s a very good chance that today would be different and that we would be wearing the thin blue line — the straps over our badges,” Sullivan said.
Individuals pulled over by officers and believed to be in possession of narcotics have been charged with a felony. Their names have not been released because they have not yet been charged, the department said.
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