RNC investigating overdose at police headquarters

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says a woman overdosed — possibly on fentanyl — while in police custody on Friday afternoon.

Police arrested a 29-year-old woman on Ropewalk Lane just after 1 p.m. on Friday, after receiving a report of an impaired driver.

The woman was taken to RNC headquarters at Fort Townshend to conduct a drug recognition exam as part of the impaired driving investigation.

"The officer who was administering the test observed the woman's condition change," says a press release issued by the RNC on Saturday afternoon.

Paramedics administered naloxone

The officer called for paramedics, who gave the woman naloxone while taking her in an ambulance to St. Clare's for treatment and observation. A spokesperson for the RNC said an officer accompanied the woman to the hospital, completed the drug-recognition exam once the woman was able to continue, and then left the woman.

The woman, who was not in custody, later left the hospital. Police don't know yet which drugs she may have been using but suspect an opioid. The results of drug-recognition tests aren't immediate.

The area at headquarters where the woman was being questioned was quarantined, until officers wearing protective equipment could clean it. The car the woman was transported in was also cleaned. No one was injured.

In the release, police warn the public that coming into contact with opioids like fentany can be lethal.

Const. Geoff Higdon told CBC that the precautions taken by police, because of the possibility of the presence of fentanyl, were necessary.

"It does show how real the problem is and the dangers officers face," he said.