Pubdate: Mon, 05 Dec 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Andrea Woo
Page: S1

OFFICER INTERVENTION RULES TO CHANGE

Watchdog to revise protocols for police actions during overdoses due
to concerns about potential liability when helping victims

British Columbia's police watchdog is changing a policy to allay
officers' fears that efforts to provide life-saving interventions
could subject them to investigation.

The change comes as the province reaches a record-level of illicit
drug overdose deaths - an average of more than two a day this year.

In the event of an opioid overdose, the slightest hesitation to
administer the antidote naloxone, or perform CPR, could result in
brain damage or death.

The Globe and Mail first reported in July that some police agencies
had concerns about officers intervening with such measures because of
potential liability. Unlike paramedics and firefighters, police
officers in B.C. are subject to investigation by the province's
Independent Investigations Office (IIO) in any instance in which a
person they interact with dies or is seriously injured.

Marten Youssef, acting director of public engagement and policy for
the IIO, said the agency had occasionally heard complaints from police
about the IIO investigating after an officer performed CPR on someone
who ultimately died.

The agency has heard many more complaints in recent weeks, as various
departments begin equipping officers with naloxone, a life-saving drug
used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Under the amended policy, police will not be required to notify the
IIO in the instances that they assist in life-saving efforts unless
physical force, or a weapon, is used during the encounter. Police will
still be required to notify the agency if a death or serious injury
occurs while the person is in police custody.

"It really is a win-win situation," Mr. Youssef said, "because then
the police have the confidence that they can administer life-saving
measures without being subject to an IIO investigation … and it will
allow us to focus our resources on the cases that are the real reason
for why this office was established."

The civilian-led IIO was established in 2012 in response to
recommendations from the Braidwood and Davies inquiries into the
police-involved deaths of Robert Dziekanski and Frank Paul,
respectively.

Mr. Youssef noted that the IIO has been notified of a total of 1,044
cases since December, 2012, and has released jurisdiction in 83 per
cent of those cases. Investigations into events where an officer has
performed CPR, for example, typically only take a few days, but
officers maintain it can be a stressful process.

"[IIO investigations] simply assure the public that police are doing
their work," Mr. Youssef said. "The IIO's process is an independent
investigation; it's not an adversarial process."

The new policy was approved and distributed to police over the
weekend.

Constable Brian Montague, a spokesman for the Vancouver Police
Department, said the force had been concerned about the policy for
some time, and is pleased that officers "will no longer be the subject
of a very stressful and intrusive investigation for attempting
life-saving medical interventions."

Across B.C., more than 622 people have died from illicit drug
overdoses so far this year - the largest death toll in more than 30
years of record-keeping. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid being
mixed with or made to look like other drugs, was detected in about 60
per cent of those deaths.
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