The King County Sheriff’s Office will equip their deputies with a life-saving tool. By the end of July all of the deputies will be carrying Naloxone, which is a medication that can be used to reverse an opioid overdose.

“It can take someone who is not breathing at all and in just a couple of minutes have them completely breathing on their own,” King County Major Bryan Howard said.

As the opioid crisis worsens, King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht made it a priority to make this happen. Thanks to help from the Behavioral Health and Recovery Division nearly 500 deputies will carry Naloxone at no hit to the Sheriff Department’s budget.

“We all know someone that has struggled with addiction to opiates. I’ve had that in my family as well and so this is a way for us to continue to serve others in our community by giving this important drug,” Howard said.

Howard said that every day they respond to medical emergencies that are not cardiac problems, but overdose issues.

“In the past all we could give them was supportive measures by maybe rescue breathing. Now we can give them potentially a life-saving drug to counteract the opiate that they took and start their breathing again,” Howard said. “Yes it is entirely possible that you might save their life and they may go on to destructive behavior later that night or that week. That’s their decision, but that doesn’t change what we do, which is trying to help them.”