Beaufort Police Department is now among more than 20 other departments in Eastern North Carolina that carry the opioid overdose-antidote naloxone.
“While this is not a long-term solution to the opioid epidemic we are facing, this is another step we can take in fulfilling our mission to serve the citizens of Beaufort,” said Beaufort Police Chief Paul Burdette in a press release.
All of the department's police officers have been trained to administer nasal naloxone kits, also known as Narcan, and will carry the kits in their patrol cars. The drug counteracts the effects of opioids in people suffering from an overdose.
Data released earlier this year from Governor Roy Cooper’s office shows there were 1,100 opioid overdose deaths statewide in 2015. Of those, more than 100 happened in Eastern North Carolina, with 15 in Carteret County alone.
The Beaufort Police Department received a private donation to initially fund the kits. And the department will fund additional supplies for the kits through its operating budget, Burdette said.