Florida cops are slammed over video claiming to show officer suffering fentanyl overdose after ‘gust of wind blew it up his nose’ as experts say it’s near IMPOSSIBLE
- Florida police released footage they said showed a cop overdosing on fentanyl after inspecting a suspicious substance, before a colleague ‘saved his life’
- But experts who reviewed the footage for DailyMail.com said the claims were ‘preposterous’, ‘irresponsible’ and flew in the face of scientific evidence
- Police have released a series of similar videos in recent years only to be slapped down each time, leaving scientists baffled as to why they won’t listen to reason
Shocking footage released by Florida police last week showed an officer collapsing to the ground after being exposed to deadly fentanyl during a routine traffic stop.
His quick-thinking colleague ‘saved his life’ by administering narcan, an anti-opioid medication.
Or so it was claimed.
The video, posted by Flagler County police department, has been blasted as ‘irresponsible misinformation’ by experts who reviewed it for DailyMail.com.
The department’s suggestion that the officer, Deputy Nick Huzior, could have died after the substance was blown up his nose by a gust of wind has been rubbished as unscientific nonsense.
Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Huzior was taken to hospital after handling fentanyl during a routine traffic stop. But police claims he could have died after the substance was blown up his nose by a gust of wind have been rubbished by the scientific community
Former police chief Brandon del Pozo blasted Florida police over footage they claimed showed an officer suffering from fentanyl poisoning after he apparently inhaled the deadly drug
More likely, he suffered a panic attack, the experts say.
Ingesting even the smallest trace of fentanyl can be deadly, but toxicologists have consistently said the risk of suffering an overdose from accidentally inhaling or handling fentanyl, as opposed to injecting or smoking it, is ‘extremely low’.
Yet police chiefs have been peddling videos suggesting the contrary for years.
In December, police in Tavares, Florida, released bodycam footage they said showed the moment a cop nearly died after apparently being exposed to fentanyl during a traffic stop.
And as long ago as 2017, when an Ohio cop collapsed and was rushed to hospital, police chiefs claimed he had overdosed on fentanyl after brushing a few specks of the substance off his uniform.
Time and time again, the scientific community has found itself debunking these misleading claims, leaving the top brass red-faced.
The dramatized claims of police – and the bizarre ways in which they say they’ve come into contact with the drug – have even been likened to a Looney Tunes understanding of science.
Brandon del Pozo, a former Burlington police chief, said the Florida incident was ‘the thousandth time’ he’d seen such a claim, but added: ‘It’s never actually a fentanyl exposure.’
Del Pozo said the claims are terrifying officers on the beat who are convinced that ‘invisible particles can kill them at any second.’
It begs the question: why do the police keep doing this?
‘Wind blew it up his nose, but we could be wrong…’
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid around 100 times more potent than morphine, is only a serious risk when intentionally ingested, through injecting, snorting or smoking – not via accidental exposure.
The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) has found occasions where officers have required medical attention after accidental exposure to opioids, including fentanyl, but symptoms have never been severe.
Nor has fentanyl ever been confirmed as the cause of symptoms in these cases by a toxicology report.
Huzior has made a full recovery and was back out on the streets the next day
A Florida cop’s body camera captured the moment he rescued another deputy from apparent fentanyl exposure during a routine traffic stop
The footage begins after a suspect is pulled over at a traffic stop. Inside, cops found a bevy of drugs, pills, alcohol, and other substances. Deputy Nick Huzior begins an inspection
Huzior swiftly staggers over to his colleague’s patrol car and complains of feeling ‘really light-headed’. Knowing that the narcotics Huzior had been testing could contain fentanyl. Deputy First Class Kyle Gaddie (seen here) dished out a dose of Narcan, a drug used to reverse the effects of fentanyl overdose
As he believes his colleague continues to suffer from the effects of fentanyl exposure, Gaddie is seen steadfastly crouching by Huzior’s side, whispering words of encouragement
‘I feel really dizzy,’ Huzior says in the clip released by his superiors Friday, before eventually being carted to a nearby hospital, where he was still recovering Saturday. ‘My heart is beating really fast’
Gaddie continued to offer his stricken companion reassuring words, as several fire officials arrived on the scene
An ambulance arrives, with Huzior loaded into the emergency vehicle via a stretcher
In a statement Saturday, officers revealed Huzior was still recovering from the scare, and confirmed the substance he had been handling was fentanyl
Sheriff Rick Staly is seen with Huzior’s savior Gaddie, whom he praised Saturday for his heroics
Despite this, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement that what happened to his deputy was ‘a perfect example of the dangers law enforcement face each and every day from poison on the streets’.
The video released by the department shows Deputy Huzior testing a white powder after pulling over a hit-and-run suspect on the side of the road.
Huzior immediately walks over to a fellow officer parked in a nearby patrol car and complains of feeling ‘really light-headed’ and that his heart is going ‘crazy’.
His colleague, Deputy Kyle Gaddie, administers narcan, an act Sheriff Staly praised as ‘potentially’ life saving.
Huzior was taken to a nearby hospital, where he made a full recovery.
The narcotics he handled tested positive for fentanyl, according to a police statement.
But the department declined to release Huzior’s medical report, which would have confirmed whether or not his reaction was caused by exposure to fentanyl.
Flagler County cited medical privacy, something del Pozo pointed out is inconsistent with reporting the officer’s symptoms in the first place.
It is not clear from the video how the deputy supposedly ingested the drug, but a Flagler County police spokesman told DailyMail.com: ‘The theory is that he was touching the drugs…we aren’t sure how it happened, but it was a windy day and it may have blown into his nose.’
When asked how this squared with expert opinion that fentanyl poisoning was unlikely to occur this way, the spokesman admitted: ‘We could be wrong’.
Police explanation more like cartoon than science
Dr Ryan Marino, a toxicologist at Case Western Reserve University, described the explanation as ‘preposterous’.
‘The image of a substance being gently and discreetly lifted by the wind and then wafted perfectly through someone’s nostrils without them ever noticing is something that would happen with apple pies in cartoons, not physical solids in the real world,’ he said.
He told DailyMail.com the primary signs of fentanyl intoxication or overdose are unresponsiveness and breathing difficulties.
‘The fact that the deputy talks clearly throughout the entire video and remains breathing means that I can definitively say he did not experience adverse effects of fentanyl,’ Marino added.
‘The symptoms he describes are almost polar opposites of effects I would expect from fentanyl or other opioids, as fentanyl would be expected to lower heart rate rather than cause “heart racing” and take away feelings of fear and anxiety.’
Both Marino and del Pozo stressed that they did not think Huzior was faking any symptoms, simply that they were not the result of fentanyl.
Marino highlighted a phenomenon known as the ‘nocebo’ effect, which is essentially the reverse of the placebo effect and causes someone to experience real symptoms if they truly believe that they can be harmed by something.
Medical misinformation putting lives at risk
Del Pozo blames the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for creating the ‘myth’ that cops are at serious risk of second hand fentanyl exposure, which he said has ‘plagued innocent police for years’.
In 2017, former DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg appeared in a video urging cops to treat fentanyl as a major risk.
‘Fentanyl is deadly,’ he warned. ‘Exposure to an amount equivalent to a few grains of sand can kill you.’
But a few months later, toxicology researchers issued a report contradicting that assessment.
The American College of Medical Toxicology and The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology issued a joint statement clarifying that ‘the risk of clinically significant exposure [to fentanyl] to emergency responders is extremely low’.
But Del Pozo said the DEA has never corrected the record.
Indeed, its website still includes a warning to police stating ‘inhalation of airborne [fentanyl] powder is MOST LIKELY to lead to harmful effects’.
Perhaps this is why cops still appear ignorant of scientific reality.
‘Most officers are under the impression that just by touching fentanyl they can suffer the reaction that Huzior had,’ a source at Flagler County police department told DailyMail.com
‘Maybe we need better training, but we haven’t had that yet.’
Del Pozo said the failure to educate officers could be behind a spate of panic attacks sparked by unfounded fears of fentanyl intoxication, which he believes is what happened to Huzior.
He said police chiefs were making officers’ lives ‘intolerable’ by perpetuating ‘pernicious myths’ around the drug.
‘Police officers deserve better,’ he added. ‘They don’t deserve to live in unfounded fear and panic that invisible particles can kill them at any second.’
Marino said the ‘irresponsible misinformation’ was discouraging officers from administering life-saving treatment to people ‘who are truly experiencing overdoses’.
A DEA official told DailyMail.com that it has ‘consistently followed CDC guidelines on preventing occupational exposure to fentanyl’.
Are police using fentanyl videos as political capital?
As to why police keep peddling these falsities, experts believe ignorance is clearly a theme.
In August 2021, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department released a video claiming to show a deputy trainee collapsing and nearly dying after apparent fentanyl exposure.
When the video was met with a swift backlash from toxicologists, Sheriff Bill Gore admitted the video was produced without any input from physicians and said he was ‘shocked’ by the reaction from the medical community.
But ‘there is more to it than simple ignorance’, according to Marino.
The toxicologist finds it hard to believe an entire police department ‘would never have seen some sort of corrective information’ on the subject, given the volume that has been published.
He said an alternative explanation for why the videos are still pushed out is that they ‘still generate political capital for departments even when corrected’.
Marino said this helps boost funding for ‘nonsensical scam products’ such as ‘fentanyl-proof’ gloves.
Worse still, the scientist highlighted how misinformation about the risks fentanyl poses to officers has led to the addition of criminal charges, such as endangerment of officers, to drug offenses, and increased penalties ‘for something that is scientifically impossible’.
Whatever the reason for continued promulgation of medical myths, it is clear Marino – and the scientific community – is at the end of their tethers.
‘It has been more than six years since large expert groups released position statements, evidence reviews and extensive press coverage,’ Marino said.
‘If they thought they were experiencing radiation poisoning from polonium exposure would they discount nuclear physicists? I doubt it. So why are drugs, and specifically fentanyl, the exception to common sense and reason?’
Source: Read Full Article