A dozen lives have been saved in the last six months by Kamloops Mounties reversing overdoses, according to the city’s top cop.
RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley said 12 of his officers have used Naloxone to revive someone in the midst of an overdose during the last half of 2023.
“That’s not including other agencies such as BC Ambulance or KFR [Kamloops Fire Rescue],” he said. “Sometimes our officers are first on scene administering Naloxone and reviving an individual.”
Pelley said police don’t track overdose statistics, but his detachment saw a 21 per cent increase last year in “unspecified assistance files” — typically the type of call related to an overdose.
“That’s not strictly surrounding overdoses, but it certainly has resulted in an increased response,” he said.
With personal possession decriminalized in B.C., Pelley said Kamloops Mounties are focusing their enforcement efforts on drug traffickers.
“We’ve had some great successes in focusing on high-level drug traffickers,” he said, teasing possible charges being announced soon in a recent case involving a significant seizure of drugs and guns.
