JOURDANTON, Texas – A routine traffic stop for Jourdanton Police Sgt. Joshua Walker turned into a life-saving event for a man who he says swallowed heroin.
The suspect, out on bond for a previous crime, told the officer he was not feeling well.
Walker said the man would not admit to having taken any drugs.
“He kept on telling me, ‘Hey, I need to throw up,’” Walker remembered him saying.
Instinct and training kicked in for Walker, who already had Narcan within arm’s reach. The life-saving drug is used to reverse overdoses in the field.
“Once he lost consciousness, I could still hear EMS getting close, so we rolled him over and immediately put two Narcan in,” Walker said.
After two minutes and four doses of Narcan, the man in his 30s started breathing again.
Walker hopes this shows the drug problem Texas first responders are dealing with daily on the job.
“There’s many officers, EMTs, firefighters out here every single day that are saving people’s lives and doing life-saving care for these people, you know, whether they’re criminals or whether they’re just everyday people in the worst day of their life,” he said.
Jourdanton Police Chief Eric Kaiser says all 10 of his department’s officers started carrying Narcan in their vehicles about a year ago. It’s purchased through the use of a grant.
“Having that antidote available is really -- there’s no value you can put on that,” Kaiser said.