A Florida police officer conducting a traffic stop was accidentally exposed to fentanyl, triggering a possible overdose that required other officers to administer three doses of Narcan.
“He was completely lifeless. She looks dead in these videos,” Tavares Police Detective Courtney Sullivan told Fox 35 after reviewing body cam video of Tavares Police Department Officer Courtney Bannick, who stopped a vehicle just after at midnight on Tuesday before suffering a possible overdose.
Bannick said she discovered narcotics, which police believed to be fentanyl, on the passenger side of the vehicle during the stop, prompting her to detain the passenger. The officer began having difficulty breathing shortly after, and another officer on the scene said it appeared Bannick was losing consciousness.
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Body camera footage shows a female police officer in Florida left suffocated and breathless after collapsing as a result of possible fentanyl exposure.
(Tavares Police Department)
The Tavares officer and an Astatula police officer also at the scene determined that Bannick needed medical attention, so they removed her from her vehicle and began dosing her with Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. .
Dramatic body camera footage of the incident shows Bannick lying motionless on the side of a road as other officers tend to her, finally sitting her down when she appears to regain consciousness.
Officers say Bannick was brought back and speaking only to again lose consciousness and may have stopped breathing, prompting officers to administer two more doses of Narcan.
Body camera footage shows a female police officer in Florida left suffocated and breathless after collapsing as a result of possible fentanyl exposure.
(Tavares Police Department)
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An ambulance eventually arrived at the scene and took the officer to an area hospital, where she is expected to make a full recovery.
The other officers on the scene believed that Bannick may have been exposed to fentanyl, which can be deadly in small doses, while handling dollar bills in which the drugs were rolled. Although she wore gloves while handling the narcotics, the officer says a gust of wind may have carried some of the drugs towards her and they were inhaled into her system.
Officer Courtney Bannick, who discovered the narcotics, had difficulty breathing after the passenger was taken to the Lake County Jail, the police department said.
(Tavares Police Department)
Bannick told Fox 35 that she is grateful to be alive and credited the other officers on the scene for their quick action.
“I’ve done this 100 times before the same way. It only takes once and a minimal amount,” Bannick said. “I’m thankful I’m not alone and I had immediate help.”
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A police officer in Florida was left suffocated and breathless after collapsing as a result of possible fentanyl exposure during a traffic stop.
(Tavares Police Department)
Sullivan agreed, saying the worst outcome was avoided.
“If the other officers weren’t there, there’s a very high probability today would be different and we’d be wearing our thin blue line, the straps that go over our insignia,” Sullivan said.
The people who were detained in the car could now face felony charges in the incident.
