

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose will be in the hands of some Toronto police officers by the end of June.

The Toronto Police Services Board initially approved a plan to equip about 1,000 officers with Naloxone back in February but the training that had to be provided to officers first delayed rollout of the program.

In a report that will be considered by the board on Wednesday, Police Chief Mark Saunders says that he expects that officers will begin receiving the drug by the end of June.

He said that all front-line officers in four downtown divisions (14,51,52,55) will eventually be equipped with Naloxone as will all members of the Toronto Drug Squad and all sergeants and detectives with the Emergency Task Force, Police Dog Services and the Gun and Gang Task Force.

“Implementation of this initiative requires action in many Toronto Police Service sub-units, across various pillars of the organization,” he writes. “Since the February 22, 2018 board meeting, two meetings have been held to strategize the implementation and assign aspects of the project to specific members for completion.”

Nearly half of officers need to update first aid certification

All officers being equipped with Naloxone will have to undergo training on how to recognize an overdose and properly administer the drug.

Saunders, however, pointed out in his report that many officers will have to be given up to date first aid training first while others will just undergo a one hour online refresher course.

He said 44 per cent of officers who are supposed to receive the drug either have expired first aid certification or will have their certification expire sometime in 2018.

He said that while the Toronto Police College has the capacity to start providing the training to all of those officers “immediately,” there will be some challenges related to “provisions for minimal staffing levels” and “officer obligations to attend court as well as other mandatory training courses.”

He said that a draft Naloxone policy as well as a means to track the usage of the drug is also “still under analysis.”

Ontario Provincial Police, Ottawa police and Peel Regional Police already issue Naloxone as standard frontline equipment while only supervisors carry the drug in York and Durham regions.

The nasal spray kits that will be given to some TPS members will be paid for by Toronto Public Health.