Vials of Naloxone, used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, are displayed at a popup safe injection site was setup near a firehall in the Downtown Eastside. 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.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail
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 where 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.
Andrea Woo