Wyckoff Police Save Man Overdosing On Heroin
WYCKOFF, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Wyckoff police used narcan to revive a person overdosing on heroin earlier this week. It was the 11th save in Bergen County so far this year.
Police Chief Benjamin Fox told WCBS 880's Sean Adams family members discovered the 26-year-old man overdosing on heroin and initiated CPR.
Officers responded to the scene and used narcan to save the man. It was the first time Fox's officers administered the opioid antidote.
"They injected nasally this narcan in him. It did immediately revive him," Fox said.
Since police in Bergen County first received narcan in the summer they have resuscitated 35 overdose victims -- 24 in 2014 and 11 so far this year.
Fox said opioid abuse is a growing epidemic.
"People don't start taking heroin, they start taking the opiate based drugs like Oxycontin and Percocet," Fox said. "They get addicted and hooked on that, but those pills on the street are very expensive. Because they can't afford the drug any longer they gravitate to the heroin which you can buy very, very cheaply."
"Once you get addicted to that the addiction becomes deeper and you're in serious trouble," he added.