Photo: Des Moines Police Department
(Des Moines, IA) -- Des Moines Police are sharing details of an opioid overdose this week, in which bystanders played a role in rescuing a person who was passed out.
Police say bystanders stopped a car that was slowly rolling in a parking lot on Des Moines' south side. The driver was passed out. Police arrived and broke a window and gave Narcan to the driver. Medics arrived and gave a second dose of the overdose-reversing drug and the patient recovered. Police say in the past 12 months, officers have given the anti-overdose medication nearly 40-times.
Between 2020-2023, the administration of Narcan by the Des Moines Fire Department during opioid overdose emergencies climbed nearly 14%.