Nearly 20,000 New York Police Department officers will now be equipped with and trained to use medical kits to instantly treat heroin overdoses, officials announced May 27.
The office of State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will provide the N.Y.P.D. with roughly $1.2 million for the effort, which uses the heroin antidote naloxone, according to the announcement by Schneiderman and Police Commissioner William Bratton.
That funding comes from the A.G.’s Community Overdose Prevention (COP) program, which uses cash seized from drug dealers and other criminals to reimburse local police departments for the naloxone kits’ cost. More than 150 law enforcement agencies around the state have applied to the program since it was launched April 3.
“The COP program is an essential part of our effort to combat the spike in heroin overdoses that is plaguing communities and families here in New York City and across the state,” said Schneiderman. “This program will literally save lives.”
“We look forward to the expansion of the program and thank the Attorney General’s Office for their continued support in this lifesaving initiative,” Bratton said.
