March 29, 2016

Photo/Lawrence Emerson

Master Deputy John Coppage used Naloxone from his cruiser’s “go bag” to save a life Saturday night in Bealeton.

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Editor

For the first time, a Fauquier sheriff’s deputy has saved the life of a heroin overdose victim with quick use of an antidote.It happened Saturday night in Bealeton.Master Deputy John Coppage had just started patrolling Southern Fauquier on the “midnight shift,” 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.A 9-1-1 dispatcher sent him to a home “just around the corner” for a reported drug overdose, Deputy Coppage said Tuesday. He reached the house in less than a minute, according to dispatch records.The deputy found a female — the sheriff’s office refused to release her age or other personal information — gasping for breath.He administered a 4-milligram dose of Naloxone , sprayed into one of the victim’s nostrils.Within a couple of minutes, she responded, beginning to breathe normally. Medics took her to Fauquier Hospital.“This is the first time a deputy has administered Naloxone in the field since the sheriff’s office began The Travis Project in January to utilize this lifesaving drug,” Lt. James Hartman said.On March 15, the sheriff’s office issued the opiate antidote to deputies. The office since December has trained 145 officers and civilian employees to administer the drug.With heroin use rising, the sheriff’s office last last year “began to explore equipping deputies with Naloxone due to the rural nature, square mileage and overall response time of first responders,” Lt. Hartman added. “Past cases have show deputies are sometimes the first to arrive on the scene of a potential overdose.”The sheriff’s office has 18 “go bags” that contain Naloxone and automated external defibrillators (AEDs). At roll before each Patrol Division shift, deputies pick up the bags, which they keep in the cabins of their cruisers.The PATH Foundation earlier this month provided a $6,850 grant to help equip the sheriff’s office.“Master Deputy Sheriff Coppage helped save a life,” Sheriff Bob Mosier said. “It’s all about getting this person the help they need now.“This is an example of your sheriff’s office and our community using all of the tools and resources available to fight this war on heroin.”His officers continue to arrest drug dealers and abusers, Sheriff Mosier said.“We are not going to arrest our way out of this problem,” he said during a recent press conference about The Travis Project and the PATH grant. “It’s about people. It’s about our sons and daughters in Fauquier County.”A six-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, Deputy Coppage graduated from Liberty High School in 2007. The 28-year-old and his wife live in Southern Fauquier.Lt. Hartman said the county attorney’s office advised the sheriff’s office that the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule prevents release of information that would identify the victim in this case.