An incident last week in Bluefield, when five city police officers and six firefighters were exposed to a highly dangerous narcotic agent, is an unfortunate reminder of the challenges that law enforcement officers and emergency service responders across our region now face on a daily basis.
When individuals engage in criminal activity with volatile and dangerous drugs, their actions present not only a danger to themselves, but also the general public and emergency service personnel who respond to such calls. In last week’s case, the exposure occurred during a traffic stop initiated by the officers on Bluefield Avenue near the Virginia border.
During the traffic stop the officers located narcotics in a package. Apparently the drugs were laced with some other type of agent that became airborne when the package was opened, incapacitating two of the officers, one severely, who had to be administered Narcan on the scene, according to Bluefield Police Chief Dennis Dillow. Narcan helps stabilize overdose victims until they can get medical treatment.