Advertisement Butler County sheriff won't let deputies carry Narcan, citing safety Sheriff reiterates his stance on Narcan; he won't have his deputies administer the drug Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones reiterated what he has repeatedly said: His deputies will not carry Narcan, the drug used to help reverse the effects of heroin overdoses."I've never used Narcan, won't use it until the courts make me," Jones said. "Narcan's not a cure all and I'm not going to have my guys do it."Although frustrated with the amount of his resources used for repeated heroin runs, often to the same home, Jones said the main reason for his decision is to protect his officers."When the police go out, it's not safe to get down on your knees and squirt this spray in their nose. These people don't want the police there, they're more concerned with hiding their drugs, hiding their needles," Jones said. "It's not my officers' job to go out and die to save somebody's life that chose to do those drugs and has a dirty needle and some type of disease. It's not his or her job to die for something they chose to do."Tammie Norris of Hamilton has a daughter who has been an addict for nine years."My daughter's been saved by Narcan more times than I can imagine, probably," Norris said.Although paramedics saved her daughter each time, Norris said police officers took an oath to save lives and feels they should also be equipped with the drug."If you ran up to someone who was wrecked in an accident, you would try and save that person," Norris said.However, like the sheriff, Norris agreed Narcan is not a cure-all; it's just one step in getting an addict on a path to recovery."I think more people could be saved, but it has to go hand in hand, it has to go saving them, detoxing them and then getting them into treatment," Norris said.Most police agencies in Butler County do not carry Narcan, including Hamilton, Middletown, Fairfield, Fairfield Township, and West Chester officers.Departments like Middletown said its officers don't carry the drug because their fire department does and medics respond to overdose calls with the officers.